Female pheromone glands in Arctiidae (Lepidoptera). Evolution and phylogenetic significance

Few papers have been devoted to the female pheromone glands, phylogeny and high-level systematics of the Arctiidae. The diversity of these glands is h ere interpreted in the light of a revised classification. The presence, in the A8-A9 intersegmental membrane, of one or two, distinctly invaginated (' saccular'), dorsal glands is a characteristic derived trait of the Arctiida e. Lithosiinae typically have an unpaired dorsal gland, anteriorly provided with a pair of short lobes. Non-lithosiine arctiids form a monophyletic gr oup, in which the gland lobes are primarily very long. Several lineages can be characterized by the shape of their dorsal glands, notably the Ctenuchi nae (inclusive of Euchromia), the Pericopinae and the Arctiini. Pheromone p roduction is a well-established function of these dorsal glands, while the ventral, intersegmental 'pouches' observed in certain taxa may not be phero mone-producing structures. The Thyretini (here allocated to Syntominae) pos sess ventral saccular glands that bear a marked resemblance to the dorsal p air. ((C) Academie des sciences / Elsevier, Paris.).