Sexual selection has resulted in some of the most captivating features of insects, including
flashy colors, bizarre structures, and complex pheromones. These features evolve in …

The insect integument is covered by cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) which provide
protection against environmental stresses, but are also used for communication. Here we …

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

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

Abstract Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are of great importance in forensic entomology
and in determining the minimum post-mortem interval, as they may be the first group of …

Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are crucial mediators of sexual selection and sexual conflict.
Recent studies have chiefly focused on environmentally induced plasticity as one source of …

Studies of mating preferences have largely neglected the potential effects of individuals
encountering their previous mates ('directly sexually familiar'), or new mates that share …

The seemingly transparent wings of many insects have recently been found to display
unexpected structural coloration. These structural colours (wing interference patterns: WIPs) …

Biologists have known for decades that many traits involved in competition for mates or other
resources and that influence mate choice are exaggerated, and their expression is …

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) play an essential role in mate recognition in insects but the
form and intensity of sexual selection on CHCs has only been evaluated in a handful of …