scholarly journals Butterfly-wing pollination in Scadoxus and other South African Amaryllidaceae

2020 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah C Butler ◽  
Steven D Johnson
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Floral Structure ◽  
Pollination Mechanisms ◽  
Butterfly Wings ◽  
Floral Diversification ◽  
Swallowtail Butterflies ◽  
Transfer Mechanisms

Abstract Understanding the evolution of floral morphology requires information about the identity of pollinators as well as the specific mechanisms of pollen transfer. Based on preliminary field observations and floral structure, we hypothesized that pollination mechanisms involving the transfer of pollen on butterfly wings occur in several lineages of South African Amaryllidaceae. Here we report findings from a detailed study of butterfly-wing pollination in two subspecies of Scadoxus multiflorus and review the prevalence of this pollination mechanism among other Amaryllidaceae in southern Africa. We established that S. multiflorus subsp. katherinae is genetically self-incompatible and thus entirely reliant on pollinators for seed production. We determined that this subspecies is pollinated almost exclusively by large swallowtail butterflies, principally males of the mocker swallowtail Papilio dardanus cenea. Flowers of S. multiflorus subsp. multiflorus are pollinated by pierid and swallowtail butterflies. Pollen is deposited on the ventral surface of the wings of butterflies as they flutter over the strongly exserted stamens. We predict that butterfly-wing pollination occurs in at least nine species of South African Amaryllidaceae, which may reflect several independent origins of this mechanism. The flowers of these species are red or orange with strong herkogamy and are either bowl-brush or open-brush in shape. We provide maps of the distribution of pollen on the ventral surface of the wings of pollinators for four of these species. All four appear to be pollinated via the ventral surface of large butterfly wings, with the floral structure facilitating the process. These findings illustrate the importance of investigating pollen transfer mechanisms in order to understand patterns of floral diversification and floral convergence.

Characteristics of Dynamic Forces Generated by a Flapping Butterfly and its Wake Structure

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Fuchiwaki ◽  
Kazuhiro Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Vortex Loop ◽  
Insect Wing ◽  
Fluid Forces ◽  
Insect Wings ◽  
Piv Measurement ◽  
Dynamic Forces ◽  
Butterfly Wings ◽  
The Relationship

A typical example of the flow field around a moving elastic body is that around butterfly wings. Butterflies fly by skillfully controlling this flow field, and vortices are generated around their bodies. The motion of their elastic wings produces dynamic fluid forces by manipulating the flow field. For this reason, there has been increased academic interest in the flow field and dynamic fluid forces produced by butterfly wings. A number of recent studies have qualitatively and quantitatively examined the flow field around insect wings. In some such previous studies, the vortex ring or vortex loop formed on the wing was visualized. However, the characteristics of dynamic forces generated by the flapping insect wing are not yet sufficiently understood. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the characteristics of dynamic lift and thrust produced by the flapping butterfly wing and the relationship between the dynamic lift and thrust and the flow field around the butterfly. We conducted the dynamic lift and thrust measurements of a fixed flapping butterfly, Idea leuconoe, using a six-axes sensor. Moreover, two-dimensional PIV measurement was conducted in the wake of the butterfly. The butterfly produced dynamic lift in downward flapping which became maximum at a flapping angle of approximately 0.0 deg. At the same time, the butterfly produced negative dynamic thrust during downward flapping. The negative dynamic thrust was not produced hydrodynamically by a flapping butterfly wing because a jet was not formed in front of the butterfly. The negative dynamic thrust was the kicking force for jumping and the maximum of this kicking force was about 6.0 times as large as the weight. On the other hand, the butterfly produced dynamic thrust in upward flapping which was approximately 6.0 times as large as the weight of the butterfly. However, the attacking force by the abdomen of the butterfly was included in the dynamic thrust and we have not yet clarified quantitatively the dynamic thrust produced by the butterfly wing.

scholarly journals Floral Diversity and Pollen Transfer Mechanisms in Bird-pollinated Salvia Species

2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 1381-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Wester ◽  
R. Classen-Bockhoff
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Floral Diversity ◽  
Transfer Mechanisms

The Adrenal Secretion of Xenopus Laevis (The South African Clawed Toad)

1932 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-237
Author(s):  
D. EPSTEIN ◽  
J.W. C. GUNN ◽  
E. EPSTEIN ◽  
G. RIMER
Keyword(s):  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
South African ◽  
Normal Saline ◽  
Saline Solution ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
The South ◽  
Mammalian Tissues ◽  
Adrenal Secretion

1. Adrenal bodies have been shown to be present on the anterior or ventral surface of the kidneys of Xenopus. Extracts of this region of the kidney contain a sympathomimetic substance, probably adrenaline. 2. Active preparations are best obtained by extracting freshly excised kidneys with normal saline solution. The extracts should be used immediately. 3. Amphibian tissues appear to react more sensitively than mammalian tissues towards the extracts.

Vapor detection through dynamic process of molecule desorption from butterfly wings

2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
Zhen Luo ◽  
Zhaoyue Weng ◽  
Qingchen Shen ◽  
Shun An ◽  
Jiaqing He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Detection Mechanism ◽  
Vapor Detection ◽  
Desorption Process ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Vapor Sensing ◽  
Butterfly Wings ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Morpho Butterfly ◽  
Wing Scales

AbstractThis work explores an alternative vapor sensing mechanism through analyzing dynamic desorption process from butterfly wings for the differentiation of both individual and mixed vapors quantitatively. Morpho butterfly wings have been used in differentiating individual vapors, but it is challenging to use them for the differentiation of mixed vapor quantitatively. This paper demonstrates the use of Morpho butterfly wings for the sensitive and selective detection of closely related vapors in mixtures. Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to process the reflectance spectra of the wing scales during dynamic desorption of different vapors. With the desorption-based detection mechanism, individual vapors with different concentrations and mixed vapors with different mixing ratios can be differentiated using the butterfly wing based sensors. Both the original butterfly wings and butterfly wings with surface modification show the capability in distinguishing vapors in mixtures, which may offer a guideline for further improving selectivity and sensitivity of bioinspired sensors.

scholarly journals Floral Diversity and Pollen Transfer Mechanisms in Bird-pollinated Salvia Species

2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Wester ◽  
Regine Claßen-Bockhoff
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Floral Diversity ◽  
Transfer Mechanisms

scholarly journals Flower orientation in Gloriosa superba (Colchicaceae) promotes cross-pollination via butterfly wings

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (7) ◽  
pp. 1137-1149
Author(s):  
Ryan J Daniels ◽  
Steven D Johnson ◽  
Craig I Peter
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Gloriosa Superba ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Controlled Pollination ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
Butterfly Wings ◽  
Single Flower

Abstract Background and Aims Complex modifications of angiosperm flowers often function for precise pollen placement on pollinators and to promote cross-pollination. We explore the functional significance of the unusually elaborate morphology of Gloriosa superba flowers, which are divided into one hermaphrodite meranthium and five male meranthia (functional pollination units of a single flower). Methods We used controlled pollination experiments, floral measurements, pollen load analyses and visitor observations in four populations of G. superba in South Africa to determine the breeding system, mechanism of pollination and role of flower in the promotion of cross-pollination. Key Results We established that G. superba is self-compatible, but reliant on pollinators for seed production. Butterflies, in particular the pierid Eronia cleodora, were the primary pollinators (>90 % of visitors). Butterflies brush against the anthers and stigma during nectar feeding and pollen is carried on their ventral wing surfaces. Butterfly scales were positively correlated with the number of pollen grains on stigmas. We demonstrate that the styles were orientated towards clearings in the vegetation and we confirm that the highest proportion of initial visits was to hermaphrodite meranthia pointing towards clearings. Conclusions The flower morphology of G. superba results in effective pollen transfer on the wings of butterfly visitors. The style-bearing hermaphrodite meranthium of the flowers orientates towards open spaces in the vegetation, thus increasing the probability that butterflies land first on the hermaphrodite meranthium. This novel aspect of flower orientation is interpreted as a mechanism that promotes cross-pollination.

The South African stereospondyl Lydekkerina huxleyi (Tetrapoda, Temnospondyli) from the Lower Triassic of Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
pp. 877-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. WARREN ◽  
R. DAMIANI ◽  
A. M. YATES
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Posterior Margin ◽  
Lower Triassic ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
The South ◽  
Karoo Basin ◽  
Skull Roof ◽  
Assemblage Zone

The first tetrapod fossil from the Rewan Formation of the Galilee Basin, central Queensland, Australia, is identified as Lydekkerina huxleyi, a stereospondyl found elsewhere only in the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of South Africa. Apomorphies shared with L. huxleyi are: anterior palatal vacuity with anterodorsal projections from its posterior margin; ventral surface of skull roof with series of thickened ridges (condition unknown in other lydekkerinids); and vomerine shagreen present (possible autapomorphic reversal). Restudy of the only other Australian lydekkerinid, Chomatobatrachus halei, shows it to be distinct from L. huxleyi. The Rewan Formation, undifferentiated in the Galilee Basin, can be correlated with the Rewan Group of the Bowen Basin, and to the early part of the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Karoo Basin, South Africa, which are of Griesbachian age. Varying palaeoenvironments may contribute to the contrasting nature of the Australian and South African faunas.

Probing the coupling of butterfly wing photonic crystals to plasmon resonances with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (44) ◽  
pp. 13887-13895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Levi D. Palmer ◽  
James L. Brooks ◽  
Renee R. Frontiera
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Photonic Crystals ◽  
Raman Scattering ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Surface Enhanced ◽  
Butterfly Wings ◽  
Plasmon Resonances ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman ◽  
Enhanced Raman Scattering

The photonic architectures of butterfly wings selectively increase surface-enhanced Raman scattering and we quantitate the enhancement of this photonic–plasmonic interaction.

scholarly journals Morphofunctional Traits and Pollination Mechanisms ofCoronilla emerusL. Flowers (Fabaceae)

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Aronne ◽  
Manuela Giovanetti ◽  
Veronica De Micco
Keyword(s):  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Stigma Receptivity ◽  
Pollination Mechanisms ◽  
Hand Pollination ◽  
And Function ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Floral Larceny

It is accepted that the papilionaceous corolla of the Fabaceae evolved under the selective pressure of bee pollinators. Morphology and function of different parts ofCoronilla emerusL. flowers were related to their role in the pollination mechanism. The corolla has a vexillum with red nectar lines, a keel hiding stamens and pistil, and two wing petals fasten to the keel with two notched folds. Pollinators land on the complex of keel and wings, trigger the protrusion of pollen and finally of the stigma from the keel tip. Data on pollen viability and stigma receptivity prove that flowers are proterandrous. The results of hand-pollination experiments confirmed that insects are fundamental to set seed. Interaction with pollinators allows not only the transport of pollen but also the rupture of the stigmatic cuticle, necessary to achieve both allogamy and autogamy. Field observations showed that Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera visited the flowers. Only some of the Hymenoptera landed on the flowers from the front and elicited pollination mechanisms. Most of the insects sucked the nectar from the back without any pollen transfer. Finally, morphological and functional characteristics ofC. emerusflowers are discussed in terms of floral larceny and reduction in pollination efficiency.

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