Most species of moths use a female-produced sex pheromone to bring mates together. Typically, sex pheromone is synthesized in a specialized gland and released during the behavior of “calling”, in which the ovipositor and gland are extruded, allowing pheromone to evaporate. Although there has been much study on how a gland makes specific pheromone components, we know relatively little about how it actually functions with regard to synthesis, storage and release. In this paper, we investigated three aspects of gland function in the noctuid moth Chloridea virescens (Fabricius): (i) whether translocation of pheromone from site of synthesis to release is dependent on calling or ovipositor movement, (ii) whether pheromone synthesis rate limits release and (iii) how intermittent calling (observed in this and other species) might affect the dynamics of release rate. Firstly, by manipulating the gland to simulate calling (extruded) or non-calling (retracted), we showed that pheromone translocation occurred regardless of whether the gland was retracted or extruded. Secondly, by manipulating pheromone production, we found that females that produced more pheromone had higher release rates. It was especially noticeable that females had a higher release rate at the start of calling, which dropped rapidly and leveled off over time. Together, these data suggest that intermittent calling in C. virescens (and other species) may function to allow females to replenish pheromone stores on the gland surface between calling bouts, so that brief, high release rates occur at the start of a calling bout; thus, potentially increasing a female’s chances of attracting a mate.

中文翻译：

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信息素的合成和腺体的收缩对粘虫蛾的信息素转运和释放动力学的影响。

大多数飞蛾都使用雌性产生的性信息素来使伴侣聚在一起。通常，性信息素是在特殊的腺体中合成的，并在“呼唤”过程中释放，在该过程中，产卵器和腺体被挤出，从而使信息素蒸发。尽管关于腺体如何制造特定信息素成分的研究很多，但我们对它在合成，储存和释放方面的实际功能知之甚少。在本文中，我们调查腺功能的三个方面的夜蛾科蛾Chloridea夜蛾（Fabricius）：（i）信息素从合成位点转移到释放是否取决于调用或产卵者运动，（ii）信息素合成速率是否限制释放，以及（iii）间歇调用（在该物种和其他物种中观察到）如何影响释放速率的动态。首先，通过操纵腺体模拟呼出（挤压）或非呼出（缩回），我们发现信息素易位，无论腺体是缩回还是挤压。其次，通过操纵信息素的产生，我们发现产生更多信息素的雌性具有更高的释放率。尤其值得注意的是，女性在通话开始时的释放率较高，随着时间的流逝，其释放速度迅速下降并趋于平稳。这些数据一起表明，间歇性呼入C. virescens（和其他物种）的功能是允许雌性在两次抽动之间补充腺体表面信息素的储存，从而在一次抽动开始时出现短暂的高释放率；因此，潜在地增加了女性吸引伴侣的机会。