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Multiple Sex Pheromones of the Mealworm Beetle, Tenebrio molitor L.

Nature volume 222, pages 180–181 (1969)Cite this article

Abstract

AMONG insects known to use a sex pheromone, it is most common for one sex to respond to the chemical signal produced by the opposite sex1. Yet in some species, apparently both sexes respond to the pheromone2,3, and recently it has been shown, in a few cases at least, that the two sexes may produce distinct pheromones4,5. Tenebrio molitor has previously been regarded as a classic case: females excite and attract males by means of a sex pheromone6,7. There are several pheromones which mediate the reproductive behaviour and physiology of Tenebrio, and we have found that the males as well as the females produce sex pheromones. Furthermore, the male pheromones are of two distinct types: (1) an excitant which attracts females and (2) an ariti-aphrodisiac which inhibits the response of other males to female scent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, New York University, Bronx, New York, 10453

    GEORGE M. HAPP

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  1. GEORGE M. HAPP
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HAPP, G. Multiple Sex Pheromones of the Mealworm Beetle, Tenebrio molitor L.. Nature 222, 180–181 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/222180a0

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