androconial scale

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androconial scale (androchronial scale) In male Lepidoptera, a wing or body scale that is modified for the dispersal of a sexual scent (pheromone). Glandular cells in the wing membrane or integument of the body connect with the base of the scale, but just how the scent is dispersed is not fully understood. The scent may diffuse via the hollow body of the scale to the fimbriae (minute hairs) at the scale tip, or may simply pass on to the surface of the scale. Androconia may be scattered singly over the surface of the wing, but are sometimes grouped together in tufts.

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