STUDIES OF PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE ARTHROPOD SECRETIONS: VI. EVIDENCE FOR A SEX PHEROMONE IN FEMALEORGYIA LEUCOSTIGMA(LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIDAE)

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Abstract
The results of behavioural, chemical, and histological studies are reported showing the presence of a sex attractant in female Orgyia leucostigma J. E. Smith. A method of bioassaying the attractancy of the female moths by the use of 4-ft-long glass tubes is given. Extraction of female abdominal tips with dichloromethane yields material biologically active when tested against male O. leucostigma.The pheromone-producing gland is a dorsally situated, crescent-shaped structure formed by modification of the epidermal cells in the intersegmental membrane between the eighth and ninth abdominal segments. The glandular cells are goblet-shaped and are arranged in an unusual manner.