Abstract
The nine sympatric forms of small ermine moths of the genus Yponomeuta (Lepidoptere; Yponomeutidae) in the west palaearctic region show various degrees of differentiation1,2, including among other characteristics, differences in their sexual pheromones3. As is the case for many other moths4, the ermine moths so far analysed use delta 11-unsaturated acetates ((Z)-11-tetradecenyl, (E)-11-tetradecenyl and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate) as primary pheromone components. Here for the first time in Lepidoptera we report that a saturated acetate, tetradecyl acetate, is the primary pheromone component5 of Y. rorellus (Hubner). Y. rorellus is almost monomorphic with respect to isoenzyme variation6 and has fewer chromosomes than its relatives7,8. We suggest that it has evolved through loss of unsaturated pheromone components in a ‘genetic revolution’ at a population bottleneck, and by the founders of the new species filling an empty communication niche, separated from that of the ancestral species.
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