For many species of insects, lipid pheromones profoundly influence survival, reproduction,
and social organization. Unravelling the chemical language of insects has been the subject …

Highlights•Sex-specific isoforms of Fruitless and Doublesex define dimorphic
circuitry.•Sensory pathways for chemical and auditory stimuli traced to the central …

Tsetse flies transmit trypanosomes—parasites that cause devastating diseases in humans
and livestock—across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Chemical communication through …

The deposition of storage fat in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG) is an evolutionarily
conserved strategy to cope with fluctuations in energy availability and metabolic stress …

Dietary composition is known to have profound effects on many aspects of animal
physiology, including lifespan, general health, and reproductive potential. We have …

Attractiveness is a major component of sexual selection that is dependent on sexual
characteristics, such as pheromone production, which often reflect an individual's fitness and …

Recent research has demonstrated extensive within-species variation in pheromone
expression in insect species, contrary to the view that pheromones are largely invariant …

Pleiotropic genes are genes that affect more than one trait. For example, many genes
required for pigmentation in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster also affect traits such as …

In insects, sexual behavior depends on chemical and non-chemical cues that might play an
important role in sexual isolation. In this review, we present current knowledge about sexual …

The surface of insects is covered by a complex mixture of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to
prevent desiccation. In many species these lipids also have communicative functions, but …