Cercal ablation modifies tethered flight behaviour of cockroach

Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 268 (5620) ◽  
pp. 523-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER J. FRASER
Keyword(s):  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Tethered Flight

scholarly journals CONTROL OF OPTOMOTOR RESPONSES BY DESCENDING DEVIATION DETECTOR NEURONES IN INTACT FLYING LOCUSTS

1990 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. HENSLER ◽  
H. F. ROWELL
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Locusta Migratoria ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Electrical Activation ◽  
Intracellular Recordings ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
Course Control

Neural control of optomotor responses in Locusta migratoria was studied using newly developed preparation of intact, tethered, flying locusts. The preparation could perform normal flight behaviour and head movements while neurones in the neck connectives were recorded and stimulated intracellularly Course deviations simulated by an artificial horizon caused optomotor reactions, e.g. steering by the wings (monitored as steering reactions in M97 and M127, first basalar muscles of fore- and hindwings, respectively) and compensatory head movements. Intracellular recordings were made from two identified descending deviation detector neurones, PI(2)5 and DNC. Both neurones coded direction specifically for course deviations. Electrical activation of either neurone tethered flight at frequencies of up to 230 Hz elicited steering in M97 and M127 and head rolling with latencies of less than 20 ms. These reactions were of the same quality and strength as compensatory head rolling and steering in M97 and M127 following horizon rolling of about 40°. This demonstrates directly a role of PI(2)5 and DNC in course control.

scholarly journals Higher flight activity in the offspring of migrants compared to residents in a migratory insect

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1881) ◽  
pp. 20172829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Dällenbach ◽  
Alexandra Glauser ◽  
Ka S. Lim ◽  
Jason W. Chapman ◽  
Myles H. M. Menz
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Partial Migration ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Episyrphus Balteatus ◽  
Flight Duration ◽  
Migratory Flight ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
Flight Mills ◽  
Energy Conserving ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Migration has evolved among many animal taxa and migratory species are found across all major lineages. Insects are the most abundant and diverse terrestrial migrants, with trillions of animals migrating annually. Partial migration, where populations consist of resident and migratory individuals, is ubiquitous among many taxa. However, the underlying mechanisms are relatively poorly understood and may be driven by physiological, behavioural or genetic variation within populations. We investigated the differences in migratory tendency between migratory and resident phenotypes of the hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus , using tethered flight mills. Further, to test whether migratory flight behaviour is heritable and to disentangle the effects of environment during development, we compared the flight behaviour of laboratory-reared offspring of migrating, overwintering and summer animals. Offspring of migrants initiated more flights than those of resident individuals. Interestingly, there were no differences among wild-caught phenotypes with regard to number of flights or total flight duration. Low activity in field-collected migrants might be explained by an energy-conserving state that migrants enter into when under laboratory conditions, or a lack of suitable environmental cues for triggering migration. Our results strongly suggest that flight behaviour is heritable and that genetic factors influence migratory tendency in E. balteatus . These findings support the growing evidence that genetic factors play a role in partial migration and warrant careful further investigation.

scholarly journals A minimal 3D model of mosquito flight behaviour around the human baited bed net

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Jones ◽  
Gregory P D Murray ◽  
Philip J McCall
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Video Tracking ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Bed Nets ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Bed Net ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Individual Agent ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Mosquito Behaviour

Abstract Background Advances in digitized video-tracking and behavioural analysis have enabled accurate recording and quantification of mosquito flight and host-seeking behaviours, facilitating development of individual (agent) based models at much finer spatial scales than previously possible. Methods Quantified behavioural parameters were used to create a novel virtual testing model, capable of accurately simulating indoor flight behaviour by a virtual population of host-seeking mosquitoes as they interact with and respond to simulated stimuli from a human-occupied bed net. The model is described, including base mosquito behaviour, state transitions, environmental representation and host stimulus representation. Results In the absence of a bed net and human host bait, flight distribution of the model population was relatively uniform throughout the arena. Introducing an unbaited untreated bed net induced a change in distribution with an increase in landing events on the net surface, predominantly on the sides of the net. Adding the presence of a simulated human bait dramatically impacted flight distribution patterns, exploratory foraging and, the number and distribution of landing positions on the net, which were determined largely by the orientation of the human within. The model replicates experimental results with free-flying living mosquitoes at human-occupied bed nets, where contact occurs predominantly on the top surface of the net. This accuracy is important as it quantifies exposure to the lethal insecticide residues that may be unique to the net roof (or theoretically any other surface). Number of net contacts and height of contacts decreased with increasing attractant dispersal noise. Conclusions Results generated by the model are an accurate representation of actual mosquito behaviour recorded at and around a human-occupied bed net in untreated and insecticide-treated nets. This fine-grained model is highly flexible and has significant potential for in silico screening of novel bed net designs, potentially reducing time and cost and accelerating the deployment of new and more effective tools for protecting against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Natural barriers: waterfall transit by small flying animals

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 201185
Author(s):  
Victor M. Ortega-Jimenez ◽  
Eva C. Herbst ◽  
Michelle S. Leung ◽  
Robert Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
The Body ◽  
Heterogeneous Structure ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
Physical Barriers ◽  
Translational Speed ◽  
Geomorphological Features ◽  
Stroke Amplitude

Waterfalls are conspicuous geomorphological features with heterogeneous structure, complex dynamics and multiphase flows. Swifts, dippers and starlings are well-known to nest behind waterfalls, and have been reported to fly through them. For smaller fliers, by contrast, waterfalls seem to represent impenetrable barriers, but associated physical constraints and the kinematic responses of volant animals during transit are unknown. Here, we describe the flight behaviour of hummingbirds (the sister group to the swifts) and of various insect taxa as they fly through an artificial sheet waterfall. We additionally launched plastic balls at different speeds at the waterfall so as to assess the inertial dependence of sheet penetration. Hummingbirds were able to penetrate the waterfall with reductions in both their translational speed, and stroke amplitude. The body tilted more vertically and exhibited greater rotations in roll, pitch and yaw, along with increases in tail spread and pitch. The much smaller plastic balls and some flies moving at speeds greater than 2.3 m s −1 and 1.6 m s −1 , respectively, also overcame effects of surface tension and water momentum and passed through the waterfall; objects with lower momentum, by contrast, entered the sheet but then fell along with the moving water. Waterfalls can thus represent impenetrable physical barriers for small and slow animal fliers, and may also serve to exclude both predators and parasites from nests of some avian taxa.

Tethered-flight and Age-related Reproductive Performance of Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren) and H. armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Coombs
Keyword(s):  
Adult Life ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
Flight Capacity ◽  
Early Adult Life ◽  
Adult Lives ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae ◽  
Adult Food

Flight capacity of female and male moths was age dependent in both H. punctigera and H. armigera using a tethered-flight technique. In H. punctigera, flight capacity increased from the first night following emergence up to Night 4, and was maintained at least until Night 10. In H. armigera, a peak in flight capacity occurred on Night 4, followed by a decline with increasing age. Long-flying moths (> 5 h duration) were evident in both species from the night following emergence. Attainment of reproductive maturity was rapid in both species, with 91% of H. punctigera and 77% of H. armigera ovipositing by Night 3. Hence, the increase in flight capacity recorded for both species during early adult life is coincident with the onset of reproductive activity. Both species retain the capacity for extensive inter-crop and inter-regional movement throughout most of the reproductive phase of their adult lives. Neither successful mating or the absence of adult food sources influenced flight capacity during early adult life.

Nocturnal observations on the emergence and flight behaviour of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the post-rainy season in central India

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Riley ◽  
N.J. Armes ◽  
D.R. Reynolds ◽  
A.D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Helicoverpa Armigera ◽  
Central India ◽  
Pigeon Pea ◽  
Mate Finding ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Infra Red ◽  
Helicoverpa Armígera ◽  
Migratory Strategies ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae ◽  
Oviposition Sites

AbstractA range of techniques was used to quantify the nocturnal flight behaviour of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) crops near Hyderabad, in central India. These included visual observations in the field, the use of field cages and a vehicle-mounted net, optical and video imaging in the infra-red, and radar. Moth emergence from the soil was observed to start at dusk and recruitment continued steadily throughout the first half of the night. Little activity was observed in moths on the night of emergence, except for weak flying or crawling to daytime refuges. Flight activity of one-day old moths started about 20 min after sunset, peaked 15 min later and within about an hour of sunset had declined to a low level which persisted for the rest of the night. Flight of reproductively mature moths was most frequent about 1 h after sunset and at this time mainly comprised females searching for oviposition sites and nectar sources. By about 2 h after sunset, flight had decreased markedly, but there was a slight increase in activity in the second half of the night caused by males undertaking mate-finding flights. Under the conditions studied, the majority of H. armigera dispersed below 10 m, and there were no mass ascents to higher altitudes like those observed at outbreak sites of the African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The contrasting migratory strategies of H. armigera and S. exempta are briefly discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document