sex determination in caterpillars

Liz Day lday at iquest.net
Wed Jul 8 15:16:17 EDT 1998



> male/female caterpillars.  I am guessing that caterpillars are sexually
> dimorphic

They aren't, as far as I know.  Some female pillars do grow bigger than
males.

> A.  How can one determine the sex of a caterpillar?

A friend who works with hornworms says to use the following method.  I
have tried it with saturniids, but didn't keep track well enough to know
if it worked.  

Underneath the larva, right in front of the last pair of legs (rear
prolegs) is a trapezoidal-shaped area.  In the middle of this area, males
have a tiny dark spot where their genitals will eventually be.  Females
don't.
 
> B.  How or when is the sex of a caterpillar determined (for example, is it
> environmental sex determination?)

I assume it's born M or F like we are.
 
> C.  Why don't caterpillars mate?  What would happen if they did?  

They are immature, have no genitalia to mate with.  God only knows;  it's
impossible. 
 
Liz


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