Premium
The nature and development of sex attractant specificity in cockroaches of the genus Periplaneta . I. Sexual dimorphism in the distribution of antennal sense organs in five species
Author(s) -
Schafer Rollie,
Sanchez Thomas V.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.1051490202
Subject(s) - periplaneta , biology , cockroach , sexual dimorphism , zoology , blattidae , genus , dictyoptera , ecology
Abstract Sexual dimorphism in the distribution of antennal sense organs is common among adults of the genus Periplaneta. In three out of the four strains of Periplaneta americana examined, adult males had more contact chemoreceptors than females. In the fourth strain of P. americana and in P. australasiae, P. brunnea, P. fuliginosa , and P. japonica , no statistically supportable sexual dimorphism of contact chemoreceptors was found. However, in all strains and species of Periplaneta examined, sexual dimorphism was found in the total number and/or density of olfactory sensilla. Male adults had nearly twice as many olfactory sensilla as female adults. These observations are consistent with the behavioral observation that males within the genus Periplaneta rely on the reception of an airborne pheromone for the initiation of courtship behavior. In P. americana , where sexual dimorphism was found in the contact chemoreceptors, contact stimuli release the full wing raising display and presentation in males during courtship.