Abstract
The behavioural responses of noctuid moths to ultrasounds, notably to echolocation signals of bats, has been observed outdoors in freely flying moths and in laboratory in stationary flight (Roeder, 1963, 1967 ; Treat, 1955). Useful insights were obtained into the specifics of moth behavior in the ultrasonic field but the quantitative characteristics of the responses such as the frequency and intensity ranges within which various species respond to ultrasounds could not be determined. This data would, however, shed much light on moth orientation mechanism. Besides, 63 per cent of experimental animals confined in a cage failed to respond to ultrasounds when resting, feeding, courting or ovipositing (Agee, 1969). This suggests that in natural conditions moths do not respond to ultrasonic stimuli unless they are engaged in a certain type of activity. In our experiments which were designed to check the above conclusions the moths were tethered by a thin nylon thread so that they could fly and manoeuvre while remaining under control.
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References
Agee H. R. (1969) Response of Heliothis spp. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) to ultrasound when resting, feeding, courting, mating or ovipositing. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer., 62: 1122–1128.
Roeder K. D. (1963). The behaviour of free flying moths in the presence of artificial ultrasonic pulses. Anim. Behav., 10: 301–304.
Roeder K. D. (1967) Turning tendency of moths exposed to ultrasound while in stationary flight. J. Insect Phusiol., 13: 873–888.
Treat A. E. (1955) The response to sound in certain Lepidoptera. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer., 48: 272–284.
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© 1990 Springer Basel AG
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Fyodorova, M.V., Lapshin, D.N. (1990). Responses of Moths to Ultrasounds. In: Gribakin, F.G., Wiese, K., Popov, A.V. (eds) Sensory Systems and Communication in Arthropods. Advances in Life Sciences. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-6410-7_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-6410-7_31
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel
Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-6412-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-6410-7
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