Antennal mechanosensors mediate flight control in moths.

Supporting Online Material for Antennal Mechanosensors Mediate Flight Control in Moths

The neural mechanisms of antennal positioning in flying moths.

In diverse insects, the forward positioning of the antenna is often among the first behavioral indicators of the onset of flight. This behavior may be important for the proper acquisition of the mechanosensory and olfactory inputs by the antennae during flight. Here, we describe the neural mechanisms of antennal positioning in hawk moths from behavioral, neuroanatomical and neurophysiological p...

Antennal regulation of migratory flight in the neotropical moth Urania fulgens.

Migrating insects use their sensory systems to acquire local and global cues about their surroundings. Previous research on tethered insects suggests that, in addition to vision and cephalic bristles, insects use antennal mechanosensory feedback to maintain their airspeeds. Owing to the large displacements of migratory insects and difficulties inherent in tracking single individuals, the roles ...

Wireless Stimulation of Antennal Muscles in Freely Flying Hawkmoths Leads to Flight Path Changes

Insect antennae are sensory organs involved in a variety of behaviors, sensing many different stimulus modalities. As mechanosensors, they are crucial for flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. One of their roles is to mediate compensatory reflexes of the abdomen in response to rotations of the body in the pitch axis. Abdominal motions, in turn, are a component of the steering mechanism ...

Airflow and optic flow mediate antennal positioning in flying honeybees

To maintain their speeds during navigation, insects rely on feedback from their visual and mechanosensory modalities. Although optic flow plays an essential role in speed determination, it is less reliable under conditions of low light or sparse landmarks. Under such conditions, insects rely on feedback from antennal mechanosensors but it is not clear how these inputs combine to elicit flight-r...