Morphological Correlates of Differences in Pheromone Sensitivity in Insect Sensilla

Scanning electron microscopy and single unit recordings of male Trichoplusia ni antennae reveal at least two classes of pheromone-sensitive sensilla trichodea. The longer sensillum contains two receptor neurons each with small amounts of spontaneous activity. One neuron responds to large (10-microgram) doses of (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate, a component of the female sex pheromone. The shorter sensillum contains two receptor neurons both with larger amounts of spontaneous activity and increased sensitivity to low (0.01-microgram) doses of pheromone.