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Copulatory behaviour of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella
Author(s) -
ONO TOMOHIRO
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1979.tb00629.x
Subject(s) - phthorimaea operculella , biology , wing , gelechiidae , stimulus (psychology) , lepidoptera genitalia , insect , zoology , botany , horticulture , psychology , engineering , psychotherapist , aerospace engineering
. Copulatory behaviour of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella , was observed in a small glasshouse. The behavioural chain is started by the female ‘calling’. Males responded to the female's sex pheromone by searching in her vicinity. When the males ‘recognized’ the female, they attempted copulation. This behaviour was released, however, by a wide variety of models, including dried whole male and female bodies, similarly sized rolls of paper with male or female wings attached, rolls of paper covered in wing scales, and even flat surfaces covered in wing scales (provided the surface was much larger than a moth). It is concluded that the mechanical stimulus from the scales is an important stimulus for evoking copulation.