Preferential oviposition has been shown in the moth Ephestia kühniella. When these moths have to choose between laying eggs on integral flour of maize or of wheat, they in large proportion prefer wheat flour. The discrimination between the flours is attained through olfactory stimuli. In the population studied (wild type), while about 67% of the females had an inborn preference for wheat flour, and about 22% an inborn preference for maize flour, the remaining 11% showed a preferential oviposition on wheat flour when reared on this flour, and a preferential oviposition on maize flour when reared on this flour or on a halfand half mixture of wheat and maize flours. The larvae reared on this mixture ate both kinds of flour, as appeared from an examination of the content of the digestive tract.
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Con il contributo del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali