QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by OERTLI, J. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by OERTLI, J. J.

Journal of Experimental Biology 145,321-338 (1989)
Published by Company of Biologists 1989

Relationship of Wing Beat Frequency and Temperature During Take-Off Flight in Temperate-Zone Beetles

J. J. OERTLI ¹

¹ Department of Entomology, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0231, USA

In 24 species of temperate-zone beetles thoracic temperatures (T_th), and wing beat frequency (n) were measured over a range of ambient temperatures (T_a) during take-off flight. The sensitivity of wing beat frequency to thoracic temperature varied greatly in different species: Q₁₀ values ranged from 0.8 to 1.3. The wing beat frequency of beetles with higher average n was more sensitive to thoracic temperature. It is suggested that the temperature sensitivity of wing beat frequency results from temperature-dependent changes in the resonant properties of the beetle flight system rather than from changes in the temperature sensitivity of the muscle or nervous system.

There was large variability in thermoregulatory precision. Beetles with higher n tended to thermoregulate more precisely than beetles with lower n. Measurements of thoracic temperature before and after flight indicated endothermic heat production during pre-flight activity, but not during the brief take-off flights.

Key words: Coleoptera, wing beat frequency, thermoregulation

Accepted on May 16, 1989

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. J. Borrell and M. J. Medeiros Thermal stability and muscle efficiency in hovering orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2004; 207(17): 2925 - 2933. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Merrick and R. J. Smith Temperature regulation in burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.: Coleoptera: Silphidae): effects of body size, morphology and environmental temperature J. Exp. Biol., February 15, 2004; 207(5): 723 - 733. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]