Ornate moths

Figure 10.4 Some examples ofpyrrolizidine alkaloids and the sex attractants made from them by danaid butterflies and ornate moths. The biosynthesis in plants of the retronedne part of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids begins with reaction between putrescine (from ornithine, Chapter 9) and spermidine...

The ornate moth Utethesia ornatrix produces (i )-(-)-hydroxydanaidal (Figure 10.4) from pyrrolizidine alkaloids like monocrotaline N-oxide, and uses it as a sex attractant for females as the danaid butterflies do. The aphid Aphis jacobaeae also feeds on Senecio plants and stores these alkaloids. The ladybird Coccinella septempunctata (Plate 3) feeding on the aphids accumulates the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in turn, but does not accumulate cardiac glycosides (see earlier). 

Conner WE (2009) Utetheisa ornatrix, the ornate arctiid. In Conner WE (ed) Tiger moths and woolly bears. Behaviour, ecology, and evolution of the Arctiidae. Oxford University Press, New York... 

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