Identification of a Sex Pheromone Produced by Sternal Glands in Females of the Caddisfly Molanna angustata Curtis

In the caddisfly Molanna angustata, females produce a sex pheromone in glands with openings on the fifth sternite. Gas chromatographic analyses of pheromone gland extracts with electroantennographic detection revealed four major compounds that stimulated male antennae. These compounds were identified by means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and enantioselective gas chromatography as heptan-2-one, (S)-heptan-2-ol, nonan-2-one, and (S)-nonan-2-ol in the approximate ratio of 1:1:4:10, respectively. Field tests showed that the mixture of the two alcohols was attractive to males whereas addition of the corresponding ketones reduced trap catches. The sex pheromone of M. angustata, a species in the family Molannidae within the suborder Integripalpia, is similar to the pheromones or pheromone-like compounds previously reported from six other trichopteran families, including members of the basal suborder Annulipalpia. This suggests that minimal evolutionary change of the pheromone chemistry has taken place within the leptoceroid branch of integripalpian Trichoptera compared to the ancestral character state

A Review of Chemosensation and Related Behavior in Aquatic Insects

Insects that are secondarily adapted to aquatic environments are able to sense odors from a diverse array of sources. The antenna of these insects, as in all insects, is the main chemosensory structure and its input to the brain allows for integration of sensory information that ultimately ends in behavioral responses. Only a fraction of the aquatic insect orders have been studied with respect to their sensory biology and most of the work has centered either on the description of the different types of sensilla, or on the behavior of the insect as a whole. In this paper, the literature is exhaustively reviewed and ways in which antennal morphology, brain structure, and associated behavior can advance better understanding of the neurobiology involved in processing of chemosensory information are discussed. Moreover, the importance of studying such group of insects is stated, and at the same time it is shown that many interesting questions regarding olfactory processing can be addressed by looking into the changes that aquatic insects undergo when leaving their aquatic environment

The Aladin Laser - From Development Challenges to Early In-Orbit Operations

The Aladin instrument is the sole payload on board the European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite. The purpose of the mission is to measure wind velocities through the Earth’s atmosphere using the Doppler effect in order to provide inputs to numerical weather prediction models and to better understand atmospheric dynamics. To this end, the instrument has two high intensity, Q-switched lasers that emit 20ns pulses at a wavelength of 355nm, with a pulse repetition frequency of 50Hz. The development of these lasers proved to be somewhat longer and more challenging than was first anticipated, with several technology hurdles to be overcome before they could be integrated and tested on the Aladin instrument. This paper will present these, along with the solutions that were eventually implemented for the flight built instrument along with the on-ground verifications which were undertaken to demonstrate fitness for launch. The Aeolus satellite was launched into a sun-synchronous, 320km orbit, from the Guiana Space Center, Kourou, French Guiana, on 22nd August 2018 on an Arianespace Vega rocket. The Aladin instrument, including the FM-A laser transmitter, was switched on 10 days later on 2nd September. The switch-on was successfully performed utilising several discrete energy steps, with intermittent assessments of the laser beam using the imaging mode of the Aladin spectrometers, in order to reduce the risk of laser damage. Full energy operation commenced on 4th September. This, along with an assessment of the early operations of the Aladin laser transmitter during the 3 month in-orbit commissioning phase and the subsequent early in-orbit operations will be described