Localization and Morphology of Sex Pheromone Glands in Scarab Beetles

The sex pheromone glands of female Anomala albopilosa albopilosa have been localized by extracting various parts of the body and analyzing the extracts by GC-MS and by histological and morphological studies. Female-specific epithelial cells line the inner surfaces of anal plates and two apical sternites; these cells are connected through many pores to the cuticle surface. The sex pheromones of other rutelines, A. cuprea and Popillia japonica and a melolonthine species, Heptophylla picea, have been also detected in the extracts from the same abdominal parts. On the other hand, the source of Holotrichia parallela sex pheromone was confirmed to be a ball-shaped abdominal sac that is exposed during the calling behavior, and no trace of the semiochemicals has been found in the anal plates and two apical sternites.