« Previous Abstract"Effects of altering flow and odor information on plume tracking behavior in walking cockroaches, Periplaneta americana (L.)"    Next AbstractCharacterization of the key aroma compounds in Bartlett pear brandies by means of the sensomics concept »

J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol

Title:		Odor tracking flight of male Manduca sexta moths along plumes of different cross-sectional area
Author(s):		Willis MA; Ford EA; Avondet JL;
Address:		"Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 2080 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH, 44106-7080, USA, maw27@case.edu"
Journal Title:		J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
Year:		2013
Volume:		20131001
Issue:		11
Page Number:		1015 - 1036
DOI:		10.1007/s00359-013-0856-0
ISSN/ISBN:		1432-1351 (Electronic) 0340-7594 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Males of the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, track wind-borne plumes of female sex pheromone by flying upwind, while continuously turning from side-to-side and changing altitude. Their characteristic 'zigzagging' trajectory has long been thought to result from the interaction of two mechanisms, an odor-modulated orientation to wind and a built-in central nervous system turning program. An interesting and as of yet unanswered question about this tracking behavior is how the cross-section of an odor plume or its clean-air 'edges' affects moths' odor tracking behavior. This study attempts to address this question by video recording and analyzing the behavior of freely flying M. sexta males tracking plumes from pheromone sources of different lengths and orientations with equal odor concentration per unit area. Our results showed that moths generated significantly wider tracks in wide plumes from the longest horizontally-oriented sources as compared to narrower point-source plumes, but had relatively unaltered tracks when orienting to plumes from the same length sources oriented vertically. This suggests that in addition to wind and the presence of pheromones, the area of the plume's cross section or its edges may also play an important role in the plume tracking mechanisms of M. sexta"
Keywords:		"Analysis of Variance Animals Arthropod Antennae/drug effects Female Flight, Animal/*drug effects/physiology Male Manduca/*physiology *Odorants Orientation/*drug effects/physiology Sex Attractants/metabolism/*pharmacology Time Factors;"
Notes:		"MedlineWillis, Mark A Ford, E A Avondet, J L eng Germany 2013/10/02 J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2013 Nov; 199(11):1015-36. doi: 10.1007/s00359-013-0856-0. Epub 2013 Oct 1"