Regulation of Pheromone Production in Lepidoptera: The Need for an Ecological Perspective

Abstract

Recently a graduate student in molecular biology, working on aspects of insect reproduction, was asked what he knew about the life history and ecology of the species he was studying. While the initial response “Oh, it lives in the rearing room down the hall” was accompanied by a telltale grin, it became clear after further discussion that the student’s knowledge of his subject species did no extend far beyond the lab bench. The object of this story is not to slight molecular biologists—because behavioral ecologists and evolutionary biologists would not fare better if asked about the physiology or biochemistry of the species they work with each day—but rather to point out that we all tend to work within a somewhat narrow context.