0000000000892534
AUTHOR
Atsushi Honma
Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth
Warning (aposematic) and cryptic colorations appear to be mutually incompatible because the primary function of the former is to increase detectability, whereas the function of the latter is to decrease it. Disruptive coloration is a type of crypsis in which the color pattern breaks up the outline of the prey, thus hindering its detection. This delusion can work even when the prey’s pattern elements are highly contrasting; thus, it is possible for an animal’s coloration to combine both warning and disruptive functions. The coloration of the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) is such that the moth is conspicuous when it rests on vegetation, but when it feigns death and drops to the gras…
Experimental evidence suggests that specular reflectance and glossy appearance help amplify warning signals
AbstractSpecular reflection appears as a bright spot or highlight on any smooth glossy convex surface and is caused by a near mirror-like reflectance off the surface. Convex shapes always provide the ideal geometry for highlights, areas of very strong reflectance, regardless of the orientation of the surface or position of the receiver. Despite highlights and glossy appearance being common in chemically defended insects, their potential signalling function is unknown. We tested the role of highlights in warning colouration of a chemically defended, alpine leaf beetle, Oreina cacaliae. We reduced the beetles’ glossiness, hence their highlights, by applying a clear matt finish varnish on thei…
Change in take-off elevation angle after limb autotomy mitigates the reduction in jumping distance in rice grasshoppersOxya yezoensis
Autotomy is the ability to spontaneously self-amputate a limb or other appendage, often as a reflexive action. This limb amputation typically occurs as a specialized defensive response to an attack from a predator and thereby enables the prey to escape from predation. Despite the benefits of escape, autotomized organisms lose the body part and its associated function. Here, we investigated the jumping behavior and performance of one-leg-autotomized and intact rice grasshoppers, Oxya yezoensis, to examine changes in jumping behavior after autotomy. The take-off elevation of autotomized grasshoppers was 7.8° lower than in intact grasshoppers, resulting in nearly a 45° angle of take-off, which…
GC/FT-IR Analysis of Novel 4,6,9-Triene and 2,4,6,9-Tetraene Occurring in a Female Pheromone Gland of Arctia plantaginis (Erebidae: Arctiinae)
Fifteen subspecies of the wood tiger moth, Arctia plantaginis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), have been recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. An analysis of crude pheromone extracts by GC equipped with an electroantennographic (EAG) detector showed four EAG-active components (Comps. I–IV) that were commonly involved in the pheromone glands of two subspecies inhabiting Japan and Finland. Comp. I is a major component (>75%) and the others are minor components (3% - 15%). Their mass spectra, measured by GC/MS, revealed the chemical structures of C21 unsaturated hydrocarbons as follows: 3,6,9-triene for Comp. I, 4,6,9-triene for Comp. II, 1,3,6,9-tetraene for Comp. III, and 2,4,6,9-tetraene …