The scent of love: Decomposition and male sex pheromones

Young virgin female hide beetles (Dermestes maculatus) are attracted to cadavers by a combination of cadaver odour and male sex pheromones, finds a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in ...

Little E/Z changes make a big difference

The coming of summer brings promise for humans and insects alike. The farmer planted maize for a bountiful harvest, but the European Corn Borer (ECB) is looking for a good meal right away. The caterpillars of this pest bore ...

Why silkworms find mulberries attractive

A new study published online on May 7th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, has found the source of silkworms' attraction to mulberry leaves, their primary food source. A jasmine-scented chemical emitted in small ...

Understanding crop pest evolution may boost biocontrol

The Egyptian cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis) is a pest species in France. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Basin as well as in Africa and the Middle East. Moth larvae are extremely polyphagous and cause damage ...

Clues as to why cockroaches are so prolific

Parthenogenesis is a strategy employed by females to reproduce asexually when they find no mating partners available, and is seen in a wide variety of animals, including arthropods, fish, amphibians and reptiles. As opposed ...

Choosing a mateā€”it's the brain, not the nose, that knows

How does a male moth find the right type of female for mating when there are two similar types luring him with their pheromones? In many species, differences in the antenna used by the male to smell these perfumes are responsible ...

New way to smell a rat means end for rodents

Simon Fraser University scientists have developed a new way to exterminate rats by identifying and synthetically replicating the male brown rat's sex pheromone. The chemical is a powerful attractant for luring female brown ...

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