Utetheisa ornatrix sexual selection

We here summarize work we have done with a moth, Utetheisa ornatrix, that has a dependence on certain plant alkaloids. The moth uses the compounds for defense and for production of a pheromone that plays a decisive role in sexual selection. The species has a broad range, extending through North America east of the Rockies and southward into Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Our studies were done mostly with populations of the moth from central Florida. 

Grant, A. J., O Connell, R. J. and Eisner, T. (1989). Pheromone-mediated sexual selection in the moth Utetheisa ornatrix olfactory receptor neurons responsive to a male-produced pheromone. Journal of Insect Behavior 2 371-385. 

Iyengar, V. K. and Eisner, T. (1999a). Heritability of body mass, a sexually selected trait, in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96 9169-9171. 

Heritability of the sexually selected trait (Utetheisa ornatrix)... 

LaMunyon C. W. and Eisner T. (1993) Post copulatory sexual selection in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 4689 1692. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , , , ]

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