Photo credits: Wendy Moore

Comparison of genitalia

We dissected genitalia following the basic protocols outlined by Richard L. Brown, Sangmi Lee, and Joe A. MacGown except that we did not stain the genitalia or preserve the abdominal skin. Their methods can be found at the following website with a link to a video of a dissection:
http://mississippientomologicalmuseum.org.msstate.edu/Researchtaxapages/CactusMoths/Methodology.html

The male genitalia of the pink bollworm (above left corner, highlighted in red) is distinctive and easy to distinguish from the genitalia of other moths found in the traps. Click on the images above to link to the corresponding fact sheet for that species.