Pheromone-blend discrimination by European corn borer moths with inter-race and inter-sex antennal transplants

Abstract

Transplantation of larval antennal imaginal disks between the pheromone races of the European corn borer moth produced males and females of one race with male antennal phenotypes of the race using the opposite pheromone blend. All of the adults with transplanted antennal disks that exhibited a pheromone-mediated response in the flight tunnel did so with the pheromone blend of the recipient's race, even though the respective males and females possessed male antennae of the opposite race. Our results support the conclusion that male antennal response type is not a determining factor in pheromone-blend discrimination in male moths.