west indian sweetpotato weevil
Researchers in Japan have identified a chemical within the male reproductive organs of the West Indian sweetpotato weevil (Euscepes postfasciatus) involved in causing females to be unreceptive to mating for an average of 9.5 days after an initial mating encounter. Further research on this dynamic could influence the use of sterile insect technique in managing the insect. (Photo credit: Juliana Cardona-Duque, University of Puerto Rico, Bugwood.org)