Figure 3. Cuticular hydrocarbons of mature virgins and mated females differ in levels of cis-vaccenyl acetate.
Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted in hexane and analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and mass spectrometry. A) Total hydrocarbon profiles for mature virgin (top), mated female (middle) and male (bottom) extracts. Each profile is from a hexane extract of 20 age-matched virgin or mated (24 h before extraction) females. B) Quantification of major compounds for mature virgin (light bars, n = 28) and mated female (black bars, n = 29) single fly extracts. Mated females were extracted 24 h after copulation. * indicates P < 0.05 for comparison between mated and virgin female. C) 7-tricosene (left panel) and cVA (right panel) levels from decapitated mature virgins (mV, n = 28), decapitated mVs that were courted, but not mated, and extracted immediately (mVm, n = 22), mated females who copulated > 14 min (M, n = 29) and mated females who had copulation interrupted after 2 min (M2, n = 16). Mated females were extracted 24 h after copulation. * indicates P < 0.05 for comparison of the marked female type to all other types. Other types were not significantly different from one another (P > 0.05).