Lyonet’s gland of the tomato fruitworm, Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The Lyonet’s gland is a widespread accessory labial gland in Lepidoptera. Albeit its function is ambiguous, the Lyonet’s gland arguably plays an important role in silk production. Our knowledge on the Lyonet’s gland in heliothine species is limited; it is apparently missing from H. armigera and Heliothis virescence, whereas reduced in size in H. zea. Using confocal microscopy and brightfield imaging, we show that the Lyonet’s gland in Helicoverpa zea is present and the size is relatively enlarged relative to other lepidopterans.