Exocrine Substances of the White Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapae crucivora (Lepidoptera : Pieridae)

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Abstract
Volatile compounds in the exocrine secretion of the butterfly, P. r. crucivora, comprised large amounts of methyl esters of some aliphatic acids and various minor components. The wings and bodies of both sexes contained methyl palmitate, methyl n-heptadecanoate, methyl linolenate, methyl linolate, methyl stearate, 3-methylbutanal and 2-phenylpropenal, while phenylacetaldehyde was present only in the wings. These compounds represented no substantial sexual difference, though quantitative variance was somewhat noticeable between the sexes. In addition to the above compounds, the male wing secreted indole, C12H18O2, C12H18O and C13H20O2 in small amounts, and the latter 3 compounds, which were characteristic to the male wing, were regarded as the constituents of androconial exudate. In contrast, methyl salicylate and a much larger quantity of indole were also detected from the male body, thereby suggesting the presence of unknown secretory organ(s) in the male body.