@article {22894, title = {The relative importance of olfaction and vision in a diurnal and a nocturnal hawkmoth}, journal = {Journal of Comparative Physiology A}, volume = {192}, year = {2006}, month = {12/2006}, pages = {431-437}, chapter = {431}, abstract = {

\"Nectar-feeding animals can use vision and olfaction to find rewarding flowers and different species may give different weight to the two sensory modalities. We have studied how a diurnal or nocturnal lifestyle affects the weight given to vision and olfaction. We tested na\ïve hawkmoths of two species in a wind tunnel, presenting an odour source and a visual stimulus. Although the two species belong to the same subfamily of sphingids, the Macroglossinae, their behaviour was quite different. The nocturnal Deilephila elpenor responded preferably to the odour while the diurnal Macroglossum stellatarum strongly favoured the visual stimulus. Since a nocturnal lifestyle is ancestral for sphingids, the diurnal species, M. stellatarum, has evolved from nocturnal moths that primarily used olfaction. During bright daylight visual cues may have became more important than odour.\"

}, keywords = {DEILEPHILA, MACROGLOSSUM, OLFACTION, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION}, doi = {10.1007/s00359-005-0081-6}, author = {Balkenius, A. and Ros{\'e}n, W. and Kelber, A.} } @article {22871, title = {Haemolymph viscosity in hawkmoths and its implications for hovering flight}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B}, volume = {290}, year = {2023}, pages = {20222185}, chapter = {20222185}, abstract = {

\"Viscosity determines the resistance of haemolymph flow through the insect body. For flying insects, viscosity is a major physiological parameter limiting flight performance by controlling the flow rate of fuel to the flight muscles, circulating nutrients and rapidly removing metabolic waste products. The more viscous the haemolymph, the greater the metabolic energy needed to pump it through confined spaces. By employing magnetic rotational spectroscopy with nickel nanorods, we showed that viscosity of haemolymph in resting hawkmoths (Sphingidae) depends on wing size non-monotonically. Viscosity increases for small hawkmoths with high wingbeat frequencies, reaches a maximum for middle-sized hawkmoths with moderate wingbeat frequencies, and decreases in large hawkmoths with slower wingbeat frequencies but greater lift. Accordingly, hawkmoths with small and large wings have viscosities approaching that of water, whereas hawkmoths with mid-sized wings have more than twofold greater viscosity. The metabolic demands of flight correlate with significant changes in circulatory strategies via modulation of haemolymph viscosity. Thus, the evolution of hovering flight would require fine-tuned viscosity adjustments to balance the need for the haemolymph to carry more fuel to the flight muscles while decreasing the viscous dissipation associated with its circulation.\"

}, keywords = {AGRIUS, CERATOMIA, DOLBA, ENYO, EUMORPHA, HAEMOLYMPH, HEMARIS, HOVERING, HYLES, MANDUCA, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISCOSITY, XYLOPHANES}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.218}, author = {Brasovs, A. and Palaoro, A.V. and Aprelev, P. and Beard, C.E. and Adler, P.H. and Kornev, K.G.} } @article {22734, title = {Parallel evolution of opsin visual pigments by tuning of spectral sensitivities during the transition from nocturnal to diurnal hawkmoths}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Biology}, volume = {XXX}, year = {2022}, month = {11/2022}, pages = {244541}, type = {Accepted manuscript}, chapter = {244541}, abstract = {

\"Light environments differ dramatically between day and night. The transition between diurnal and nocturnal visual ecology has happened repeatedly during evolution in many species. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the evolution of vision in recent diurnal\–nocturnal transition is poorly understood. Here, we focus on hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) to address this question by investigating five nocturnal and five diurnal species. We performed RNA-sequencing analysis and identified opsin genes corresponding to the ultraviolet (UV), short-wavelength (SW), and long-wavelength (LW)-absorbing visual pigments. We found no significant differences in the expression patterns of opsin genes between the nocturnal and diurnal species. We then constructed the phylogenetic trees of hawkmoth species and opsins. The diurnal lineages had emerged at least three times from the nocturnal ancestors. The evolutionary rates of amino acid substitutions in the three opsins differed between the nocturnal and diurnal species. We found an excess number of parallel amino acid substitutions in the opsins in three independent diurnal lineages. The numbers were significantly more than those inferred from neutral evolution, suggesting that positive selection acted on these parallel substitutions. Moreover, we predicted the visual pigments\’ absorption spectra based on electrophysiologically-determined spectral sensitivity in two nocturnal and two diurnal species belonging to different clades. In the diurnal species, the LW pigments shift 10 nm toward the short wavelength, and the SW pigments shift 10 nm in the opposite direction. Taken together, our results suggest that parallel evolution of opsins may have enhanced the color discrimination properties of diurnal hawkmoths in ambient light.\"

}, keywords = {ABSORPTION SPECTRA, ADAPTATION, AMBULYX, AMPELOPHAGA, CEPHONODES, DAPHNIS, DIURNALISM, EVOLUTION, GENE EXPRESSION, HEMARIS, HISTOLOGY, MACROGLOSSUM, MARUMBA, MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD, NEOGURELCA, OPSIN, PHYSIOLOGY, RNA, SPECTRAL SHIFT, SPHINGIDAE, THERETRA, ULTRAVIOLET VISION, VISION}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.244541}, url = { https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.244541}, author = {Akiyama, T. and Uchiyama, H. and Yajima, S. and Arikawa, K. and Terai, Y.} } @article {22272, title = {Super cooling point phenotypes and cold resistance in Hyles euphorbiae hawk moths from different climate zones}, journal = {Diversity}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, pages = {207}, chapter = {207}, abstract = {

\"The spurge hawkmoth Hyles euphorbiae L. (Sphingidae) comprises a remarkable species complex with still not fully resolved taxonomy. Its extensive natural distribution range covers diverse climatic zones. This predestinates particular populations to cope with different local seasonally unfavorable environmental conditions. The ability of the pupae to overcome outer frosty conditions is well known. However, the differences between two main ecotypes (\‘euphorbiae\’ and \‘tithymali\’) in terms of the inherent degree of frost tolerance, its corresponding survival strategy, and underlying mechanism have not been studied in detail so far. The main aim of our study was to test the phenotypic exhibition of pupae (as the relevant life cycle stadia to outlast unfavorable conditions) in response to combined effects of exogenous stimuli, such as daylight length and cooling regime. Namely, we tested the turnout of subitan (with fast development, unadapted to unfavorable conditions) or diapause (paused development, adapted to unfavorable external influences and increased resistance) pupae under different conditions, as well as their mortality, and we measured the super cooling point (SCP) of whole pupae (in vivo) and pupal hemolymph (in vitro) as phenotypic indicators of cold acclimation. Our results show higher cold sensitivity in \‘tithymali\’ populations, exhibiting rather opportunistic and short-termed cold hardiness, while \‘euphorbiae\’ produces a phenotype of seasonal cold-hardy diapause pupae under a combined effect of short daylight length and continuous cold treatment. Further differences include the variability in duration and mortality of diapause pupae. This suggests different pre-adaptations to seasonal environmental conditions in each ecotype and may indicate a state of incipient speciation within the H. euphorbiae complex.\"

}, keywords = {ADAPTATION, COLD ACCLIMATION, COLD TOLERANCE, DAY LENGTH, DIAPAUSE, ECOLOGY, ECOTYPE, HYLES, PHENOTYPES, PHYSIOLOGY, PUPA, SPECIATION, SPHINGIDAE, SUPERCOOLING}, doi = {10.3390/d13050207}, url = { https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050207}, author = {Daneck, H. and Barth, M.B. and Geck, M. and Hundsdoerfer, A.K.} } @article {22046, title = {Species-specific strategies increase unpredictability of escape flight in eared moths}, journal = {Functional Ecology}, volume = {33}, year = {2019}, pages = {1674-1683}, chapter = {1674}, abstract = {

\"1. Many prey species overlap in time and space and are hunted by the same predators. A common anti-predator behaviour is using evasive manoeuvres to escape an attacking predator. The escape-tactic diversity hypothesis postulates that species-specific differences in evasive behaviour will increase the overall unpredictability experienced by predators within a predator\–prey community. Evolutionary, escape-tactic diversity would be driven by the enhanced predator protection for each prey individual in the community. However, escape-tactic diversity could also be a functional consequence of morphological differences that correlate with evasive capabilities.
2. Echolocating bats and eared moths are a textbook example of predator\–prey interactions. Moths exhibit evasive flight with diverse tactics; however, the variability of their evasive flight within and between species and individuals has never been quantified systematically. In addition, moth species show variation in size, which correlates with their flight capability.
3. We recorded flight strength during tethered flight of eight sympatric moth species in response to the same level of simulated bat predation. Our method allowed us to record kinematic parameters that are correlated with evasive flight in a controlled way to investigate species-specific differences in escape tactics.
4. We show species-specific and size-independent differences in both overall flight strength and change of flight strength over time, supporting the escape-tactic diversity hypothesis for eared moths. Additionally, we show strong interindividual differences in evasive flight within some species. This diversity in escape tactic between eared moths increases the overall unpredictability of evasive flight experienced by bat predators, likely providing increased protection against predatory bats for the single individual.\"

}, keywords = {ACOUSTICS, BATS, DEILEPHILA, KINEMATICS, NOCTUIDAE, PHYSIOLOGY, PREDATOR AVOIDANCE, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {H{\"u}gel, T. and Goerlitz, H.R.} } @article {21990, title = {Rearing Theretra oldenlandiae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) larvae on an artificial diet}, journal = {Journal of Insect Science}, volume = {19}, year = {2019}, month = {05/2019}, pages = {10; 1-5}, type = {Early view}, chapter = {10}, abstract = {

\"The hawk moth Theretra oldenlandiae (Fabricius) is an important insect pest because in the larval stage it feeds on agricultural crops and ornamental plants such as the eddoe and garden balsam. In this study, we established methods for rearing T. oldenlandiae in the laboratory using an artificial diet containing dry powder of a wild grass Cayratia japonica (Thunb.) Gagnep. Several artificial diets were tested with different ratios of a commercial diet, Insecta LFM, and the dry leaf powder, and including different antibiotics, and the composition of the standard diet on which larvae performed best was determined. The standard diet contains 20 g of Insecta LFM, 4 g of leaf powder, 100 ml of water, 75 mg of chloramphenicol, and 200 \μl of propionic acid. Larvae reared on the standard diet became larger pupae than those reared on C. japonica leaves. This result suggests that the larvae have growth potential that is masked on C. japonica leaves, and that C. japonica may not be the most suitable host species for T. oldenlandiae larvae in terms of nutrient level.\"

}, keywords = {ARTIFICIAL DIET, FOODPLANT, FOODPLANT SPECIFICITY, PARASITOIDS, PEST, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, STURMIA, TACHINIDAE, THERETRA}, doi = {10.1093/jisesa/iez043}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iez043}, author = {Nagamine, K. and Hojoh, K. and Nagata, S. and Shintani, Y.} } @article {21484, title = {Higher-order neural processing tunes motion neurons to visual ecology in three species of hawkmoths}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B}, volume = {284}, year = {2017}, month = {06/2017}, pages = {20170880}, chapter = {20170880}, abstract = {

\"To sample information optimally, sensory systems must adapt to the ecological demands of each animal species. These adaptations can occur peripherally, in the anatomical structures of sensory organs and their receptors; and centrally, as higher-order neural processing in the brain. While a rich body of investigations has focused on peripheral adaptations, our understanding is sparse when it comes to central mechanisms. We quantified how peripheral adaptations in the eyes, and central adaptations in the wide-field motion vision system, set the trade-off between resolution and sensitivity in three species of hawkmoths active at very different light levels: nocturnal Deilephila elpenor, crepuscular Manduca sexta, and diurnal Macroglossum stellatarum. Using optical measurements and physiological recordings from the photoreceptors and wide-field motion neurons in the lobula complex, we demonstrate that all three species use spatial and temporal summation to improve visual performance in dim light. The diurnal Macroglossum relies least on summation, but can only see at brighter intensities. Manduca, with large sensitive eyes, relies less on neural summation than the smaller eyed Deilephila, but both species attain similar visual performance at nocturnal light levels. Our results reveal howthe visual systems of these three hawkmoth species are intimately matched to their visual ecologies.\"

}, keywords = {DEILEPHILA, ECOLOGY, MACROGLOSSUM, MANDUCA, NEURAL SUMMATION, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION, VISUAL PROCESSING}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0880}, author = {St{\"o}ckl, A.L. and O{\textquoteright}Carroll, D.C. and Warrant, E.J.} } @article {21484, title = {Neural summation in the hawkmoth visual system extends the limits of vision in dim light}, journal = {Current Biology}, volume = {26}, year = {2016}, month = {03/2016}, pages = {821-826}, chapter = {821}, abstract = {

\"Most of the world\’s animals are active in dim light and depend on good vision for the tasks of daily life. Many have evolved visual adaptations that permit a performance superior to that of manmade imaging devices [1]. In insects, a major model visual system, nocturnal species show impressive visual abilities ranging from flight control [2, 3], to color discrimination [4, 5], to navigation using visual landmarks [6\–8] or dim celestial compass cues [9, 10]. In addition to optical adaptations that improve their sensitivity in dim light [11], neural summation of light in space and time\—which enhances the coarser and slower features of the scene at the expense of noisier finer and faster features\—has been suggested to improve sensitivity in theoretical [12\–14], anatomical [15\–17], and behavioral [18\–20] studies. How these summation strategies function neurally is, however, presently unknown. Here, we quantified spatial and temporal summation in the motion vision pathway of a nocturnal hawkmoth. We show that spatial and temporal summation combine supralinearly to substantially increase contrast sensitivity and visual information rate over four decades of light intensity, enabling hawkmoths to see at light levels 100 times dimmer than without summation. Our results reveal how visual motion is calculated neurally in dim light and how spatial and temporal summation improve sensitivity while simultaneously maximizing spatial and temporal resolution, thus extending models of insect motion vision derived predominantly from diurnal flies. Moreover, the summation strategies we have revealed may benefit manmade vision systems optimized for variable light levels [21].\"

}, keywords = {DEILEPHILA, NEURAL SUMMATION, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION, VISUAL PROCESSING}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.030}, author = {St{\"o}ckl, A.L. and O{\textquoteright}Carroll, D.C. and Warrant, E.J.} } @article {21483, title = {Wide-field motion tuning in nocturnal hawkmoths}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B}, volume = {277}, year = {2010}, pages = {853-860}, chapter = {853}, abstract = {

\"Nocturnal hawkmoths are known for impressive visually guided behaviours in dim light, such as hovering while feeding from nectar-bearing flowers. This\  requires tight visual feedback to estimate and counter relative motion. Discrimination of low velocities, as required for stable hovering flight, is fundamentally limited by spatial resolution, yet in the evolution of eyes for nocturnal vision, maintenance of high spatial acuity compromises absolute sensitivity. To investigate these trade-offs, we compared responses of wide-field motion-sensitive neurons in three species of hawkmoth: Manduca sexta (a crepuscular hoverer), Deilephila elpenor (a fully nocturnal hoverer) and Acherontia atropos (a fully nocturnal hawkmoth that does not hover as it feeds uniquely from honey in bees\’\  nests). We show that despite smaller eyes, the motion pathway of D. elpenor is tuned to higher spatial frequencies and lower temporal frequencies than A. atropos, consistent with D. elpenor\’s need to detect low velocities for hovering. Acherontia atropos, however, presumably evolved low-light sensitivity without sacrificing temporal acuity. Manduca sexta, active at higher light levels, is tuned to the highest spatial frequencies of the three and temporal frequencies comparable with A. atropos. This yields similar tuning to low velocities as in D. elpenor, but with the advantage of shorter neural delays in processing motion.\"

}, keywords = {ACHERONTIA, DEILEPHILA, HOVERING, MANDUCA, NIGHT VISION, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION, VISUAL ACUITY, VISUAL PROCESSING}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2009.1677}, author = {Theobald, J.C. and Warrant, E.J. and O{\textquoteright}Carroll, D.C.} } @article {18705, title = {Scotopic colour vision in nocturnal hawkmoths}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {419}, year = {2002}, month = {10/2002}, pages = {922-925}, chapter = {922}, abstract = {

\"Humans are colour-blind at night, and it has been assumed that this is true of all animals. But colour vision is as useful for discriminating objects at night as it is during the day. Here we show, through behavioural experiments, that the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor uses colour vision to discriminate coloured stimuli at intensities corresponding to dim starlight (0.0001 cd m-2). It can do this even if the illumination colour changes, thereby showing colour constancy\—a property of true colour vision systems. In identical conditions humans are completely colour-blind. Our calculations show that the possession of three photoreceptor classes reduces the absolute sensitivity of the eye, which indicates that colour vision has a high ecological relevance in nocturnal moths. In addition, the photoreceptors of a single ommatidium absorb too few photons for reliable discrimination, indicating that spatial and/or temporal summation must occur for colour vision to be possible. Taken together, our results show that colour vision occurs at nocturnal intensities in a biologically relevant context.\"

}, keywords = {COLOUR VISION, DEILEPHILA, HYLES, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION}, doi = {10.1038/nature01065}, author = {Kelber, A. and Balkenius, A. and Warrant, E.J.} } @article {20942, title = {Adaptations for nocturnal and diurnal vision in the hawkmoth lamina}, journal = {Journal of Comparative Neurology}, volume = {524}, year = {2016}, pages = {160-175}, chapter = {160}, keywords = {ADAPTATION, DEILEPHILA, LAMINA, MACROGLOSSUM, MANDUCA, NEUROLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, SPATIAL SUMMATION, SPHINGIDAE, VISION, VISUAL PROCESSING}, doi = {10.1002/cne.23832}, author = {St{\"o}ckl, A.L. and Ribi, W.A. and Warrant, E.J.} } @article {19764, title = {An acoustic sense in some hawkmoths (Choerocampinae)}, journal = {Journal of Insect Physiology}, volume = {16}, year = {1970}, month = {1970}, pages = {1069-1086}, chapter = {1069}, keywords = {ADULT MORPHOLOGY, HEARING, HIPPOTION, HYLES, PHYSIOLOGY, SENSILLA, SPHINGIDAE, XYLOPHANES}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1910(70)90199-X}, author = {Roeder, K.D. and Treat, A.E.} } @article {19763, title = {Acoustic and mechanical sensitivity of the distal lobe of the pilifer in choerocampine hawkmoths}, journal = {Journal of Insect Physiology}, volume = {18}, year = {1972}, month = {1972}, pages = {1249-1264}, chapter = {1249}, keywords = {ADULT MORPHOLOGY, HEARING, HYLES, MECHANORECEPTION, PHYSIOLOGY, PILIFER, SENSILLA, SPHINGIDAE}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1910(72)90255-7}, author = {Roeder, K.D.} } @article {18705, title = {Colour vision in diurnal and nocturnal hawkmoths}, journal = {Integrative and Comparative Biology}, volume = {43}, year = {2003}, month = {2003}, pages = {571-579}, chapter = {571}, keywords = {COLOUR VISION, DEILEPHILA, HYLES, MACROGLOSSUM, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, VISION}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/43/4/571/617782}, author = {Kelber, A. and Balkenius, A. and Warrant, E.J.} } @article {18083, title = {Hearing with the mouthparts: behavioural responses and the structural basis of ultrasound perception in acherontiine hawkmoths}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Biology}, volume = {202}, year = {1999}, month = {1999}, pages = {909-918}, chapter = {909}, keywords = {ACHERONTIA, COELONIA, EUCHLORON, HIPPOTION, NEUROLOGY, PANOGENA, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, TYMPANAL ORGANS, ULTRASONICS, XANTHOPAN}, url = {https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-pdf/202/8/909/2598932/jexbio_202_8_909.pdf}, author = {G{\"o}pfert, M.C. and Wasserthal, L.T.} } @article {18084, title = {Auditory sensory cells in hawkmoths: identification, physiology and structure}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Biology}, volume = {202}, year = {1999}, month = {1999}, pages = {1579-1587}, chapter = {1579}, keywords = {ACHERONTIA, HEARING, HIPPOTION, NEUROLOGY, PANOGENA, PHYSIOLOGY, PILIFER, SPHINGIDAE, ULTRASONICS}, url = {https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-pdf/202/12/1579/2603760/jexbio_202_12_1579.pdf}, author = {G{\"o}pfert, M.C. and Wasserthal, L.T.} } @article {17182, title = {Activity patterns, body temperature and thermal ecology in two desert caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)}, journal = {Ecology, New York}, volume = {57}, year = {1976}, month = {1976}, pages = {485-497}, chapter = {485}, keywords = {FOODPLANT, HYLES, MANDUCA, PHYSIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE, THERMOREGULATION, USA, WORLDMAP1}, author = {Casey, T.M.} }