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 here 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 Arctiidae. Lithosiinae typically have an unpaired dorsal gland, anteriorly provided with a pair of short lobes. Non-lithosiine arctiids form a monophyletic group, in which the gland lobes are primarily very long. Several lineages can be characterized by the shape of their dorsal glands, notably the Ctenuchinae (inclusive of Euchromia), the Pericopinae and the Arctiini. Pheromone production is a well-established function of these dorsal glands, while the ventral, intersegmental 'pouches' observed in certain taxa may not be pheromone-producing structures. The Thyretini (here allocated to Syntominae) possess ventral saccular glands that bear a marked resemblance to the dorsal pair. ((C) Academie des sciences / Elsevier, Paris.).