The gustatory sensilla on the endophytic ovipositor of Odonata

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Rebora ◽  
Silvana Piersanti ◽  
Alessandro Dell'Otto ◽  
Elda Gaino
Keyword(s):  
1990 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
B. K. MITCHELL ◽  
J. J.B. SMITH ◽  
P. J. ALBERT ◽  
A. T. WHITEHEAD

In behavioural tests, 2-day-old female Sarcophaga bullata consumed more liver or fish powder in solution than 100 mmol l−1 sucrose. We investigated the chemosensory basis of this discrimination by recording electrophysiological responses of 177 medium-length labellar taste sensilla from 10 different flies to two applications of each of these three solutions. Responses from three chemosensory cells were evident in most records. Cell 1 produced a mean response of 37.6 impulses s−1, and similar responses to all three stimuli. It was the most active of the three cells. Cell 2 produced a significantly greater response to fish than to liver or sucrose in one of the two stimulus applications. Cell 3, the least active, responded with twice the firing rate to fish than to liver or sucrose. However, the mean firing rates did not provide information that could account for the observed behavioural discrimination. The only difference in the electrophysiological responses to the three stimuli which correlated with the behavioural discrimination was the variance of the response of cell 1, which was much higher to sucrose than to either fish or liver. We propose that variance itself could provide the necessary information to allow the fly's nervous system to distinguish between a ‘simple’ stimulus such as sucrose and a ‘complex’ stimulus such as fish or liver.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 842-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Albert

The structure and innervation as determined by methylene blue techniques of the sensilla of the maxillary palp, galea, mandible, labrum, and labial palp of the spruce budworm larva are described, based on light and scanning electron microscopy. An attempt is made to identify the function of various sensilla by comparing them with those of other insects. The function of the gustatory sensilla on the galea and epipharynx is confirmed electrophysiologically.


2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tena ◽  
A. Kapranas ◽  
G.P. Walker ◽  
F. Garcia-Marí ◽  
R.F. Luck

AbstractMetaphycus flavus(Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a facultatively gregarious endoparasitoid of soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae). When it develops in superparasitised hosts, the larvae often attack and consume brood mates six or more days post oviposition. Under our laboratory conditions (25±1°C and 14 hours of light followed by 18±1°C and ten hours of darkness in 50–70% R.H.),M. flavuseggs hatched three days after oviposition. Measurements of the mandibles and tentorium indicate there are four larval instars, andM. flavusreaches the fourth instar by day six post oviposition, and pupates on day eight. Thus, cannibalism amongM. flavuslarvae occurs during the fourth instar. During this instar,M. flavuslarvae separate from their attachment to the scale cuticle, to which they were tethered by a respiratory structure during the previous three larval instars. Once detached, they are free to move within the scale, which increases the probability of larval encounters and aggressive behaviours. Moreover, the mandibles of the fourth instar are better adapted for fighting than are those of the first three larval instars, since they are larger and more sclerotized. The cranium and mouthparts ofM. flavushave four different types of sensory organs, some of which are almost certainly olfactory, an unexpected function for a larva that presumably is surrounded by an aqueous medium where gustatory sensilla would seem to be more appropriate. The cranium also bears two pairs of what appear to be secretory pores.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Ugajin ◽  
Katsuhisa Ozaki

Lepidopteran insects are mostly monophagous or oligophagous. Female butterflies distinguish their host plants by detecting a combination of specific phytochemicals through the gustatory sensilla densely distributed on their foreleg tarsi, thereby ensuring oviposition on appropriate host plants. In this study, to gain insight into the molecular mechanism underlying host plant recognition by the gustatory sensilla, using Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus, we focused on a family of small soluble ligand-binding molecules, odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), and found that three OBP genes showed enriched expression in the foreleg tarsus. Multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses demonstrated the coexpression of these three OBP genes at the bases of the foreleg gustatory sensilla. Further analyses on other appendages revealed that PxutOBP3 was exclusively expressed in the tissues which could have direct contact with the leaf surface, suggesting that this OBP gene specifically plays an important role in phytochemicals perception.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zishu Dong ◽  
Yubin Yang ◽  
Fugen Dou ◽  
Yujing Zhang ◽  
Huixin Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract The external morphology and distribution of antennal sensilla of Glenea cantor Fabricius were studied with scanning electron microscopy. The antennae of G. cantor were observed to be filiform, consisting of scape, pedicel, and flagellum (nine flagellomeres). Four distinct types of sensory receptors were observed, including sensilla chaetica, sensilla trichodea, sensilla basiconica, and Böhm bristles. Three morphological subtypes of sensilla chaetica were found on the antennae, and sensilla trichodea were also categorized into three morphological subtypes. Sensilla basiconica was grouped into two morphological subtypes that were found on subsegments F2-F9 of the flagellum, and Böhm bristles were only found at the intersegmental joints between the scape and the head and between the scape and the pedicel. The antennae of male and female adults were similar in shape, length, and diameter. However, the length, diameter, distribution, and number of each of the four distinct types of sensilla on the males were significantly different from those on females. The types, lengths, diameters, numbers, and distributions of these sensilla were described, and their possible functions were also discussed. The results indicated that the base and end of an antennal segment have a similar sensillum density, but the middle section sensor density is significantly greater, especially for olfactory and gustatory sensilla, possibly because the joints are more involved in mechanical sensing. The density of sensors is closely related to its sensing function; so, future studies on the biology of olfaction and sexual communication in G. cantor will be facilitated by these observations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vonnie Denise Christine Shields

The sense of taste plays a pivotal role in the behavior of insects. Caterpillars depend largely on taste cues from plants to detect and locate food sources. Taste stimuli can be either simple or complex as multimolecular mixtures. The insect faces the task of deciphering the nature of these tastants and must then make appropriate feeding choices. Typically, caterpillar larvae possess four types of bilateral gustatory sensilla on their mouthparts. The lateral and medial styloconic sensilla are thought to be the primary organs involved in feeding. These sensilla are in continuous contact with plant sap during feeding and can detect different phytochemicals present in the plant. The gustatory sensory input is encoded as patterns of nerve impulses by gustatory receptor cells housed in these sensilla. Therefore, these gustatory receptor cells form the first layer of a decision-making process that ultimately determines whether food is accepted or rejected by the insect. Caterpillars, such as gypsy moth larvae (Lymantria dispar) (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) are major forest pests in most of the United States. These larvae are highly polyphagous feeders and defoliate a variety of tree species, including forest, shade, fruit, and ornamentals. This chapter discusses morphological, feeding behavioral, and electrophysiological aspects of gustatory sensilla with respect to gypsy moth caterpillars.


2002 ◽  
Vol 269 (1503) ◽  
pp. 1879-1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bénédet ◽  
T. Leroy ◽  
N. Gauthier ◽  
C. Thibaudeau ◽  
E. Thibout ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Kawano ◽  
Masasuke Ryuda ◽  
Hitoshi Matsumoto ◽  
Masanori Ochiai ◽  
Yasunori Oda ◽  
...  

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