Genetic Basis of Heterogeneity for Morphological and Behavioral Characters in a Population of Archips podanaScop. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Inheritance of morphological characters related to male and female genitalia was examined in Archips podanaScop. The position and number of aedeagus prongs had a monogenic diallelic mode of inheritance. The gene determining this character is autosomal. Homozygous and heterozygous males have respectively one and two prongs. In contrast to homozygous for P ¹(prong A) and heterozygous (prong A+B) males, males homozygous for P ²(prong B) were characterized by much more active courtship. The gene correlates with a set of characters controlling individual ecology, exploring behavior of females, and feeding on different cultures. Morphological adult type 0 is an extremely weak form of phenotype B. Exploring activity of adults having phenotype B is the highest at the ratio of cis-11-tetradecenol to the other components of the female sex pheromone that leads to a somewhat lower activity of males of other phenotypes. In females, no regularities in inheritance of phenotypic characters were revealed. A hypothesis on a mechanism for maintenance of population stability for the given phenotypes is advanced and a possible mechanism for microevolution of a polymorphic species is proposed.