Sex pheromone of the mealworm beetle. (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i>)

Abstract

Abstract Sex pheromone activity from female mealworm beetles ( Tenebrio molitor ) may be extracted and quantified by fractional population response of virgin adult males, which attempt copulation with any pheromone‐treated object. Extracts of mature males can be shown to elicit identical behavioral activity, although at lower individual concentration. Since response to the pheromone is sex‐specific, its apparent production by both sexes of T. molitor is especially noteworthy. It has been shown that the presence of pheromone in males cannot be due to contamination by females. Both pheromone production and the male response are undetectable in newly‐emerged adults; both rise to their maximum extent within one week of eclosion.