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

This Article Full Text (PDF) References 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 Similar articles in PubMed 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 Skals, N. Articles by Surlykke, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Skals, N. Articles by Surlykke, A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 202, Issue 21 2937-2949, Copyright © 1999 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Sound production by abdominal tymbal organs in two moth species: the green silver-line and the scarce silver-line (Noctuoidea: Nolidae: Chloephorinae)

N Skals and A Surlykke
Centre for Sound Communication, Institute of Biology, Odense University, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark. ams@dou.dk

Male moths of the chloephorine species Pseudoips prasinana and Bena bicolorana produce clicks (approximately 100 dB peSPL at 10 cm) using ventral tymbal organs located in a cleft in the second abdominal sternite. Large muscles insert on the dorsal part of the tymbal frame and rhythmically flex a thin sheet of cuticle. Normally, each sound-production cycle contains four clicks, the left and right tymbals producing clicks both on active buckling caused by muscle contraction and on the passive elastic return from buckling. Histochemical staining indicated the presence of elastic resilin-like proteins in the tymbals. Obvious differences between the click patterns of the two species reflect differences in their tymbal morphology. P. prasinana has smooth tymbals and produces a single click (300 ?s, 40 kHz) for each tymbal buckling. In contrast, B. bicolorana has striae on the medial part of the tymbals. Accordingly, it produces many clicks per buckling. The click pattern is a heterogeneous mixture of large clicks at 52 kHz, resembling those of P. prasinana, interspersed with series of broad-band clicks (20-100 kHz) of lower intensity (15-20 dB). Thus, in chloephorine moths, there is a correlation between the structure and function of the smooth and striated tymbals that is strikingly similar to that in arctiid moths, although the two types of tymbals have evolved independently. The hearing of P. prasinana is tuned to its own sounds with lowest threshold (38 dB SPL) at 40-60 kHz. We suggest that sound production in male chloephorines plays a part in sexual acoustic communication.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. Nakano, T. Takanashi, T. Fujii, N. Skals, A. Surlykke, and Y. Ishikawa Moths are not silent, but whisper ultrasonic courtship songs J. Exp. Biol., December 15, 2009; 212(24): 4072 - 4078. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Nakano, N. Skals, T. Takanashi, A. Surlykke, T. Koike, K. Yoshida, H. Maruyama, S. Tatsuki, and Y. Ishikawa Moths produce extremely quiet ultrasonic courtship songs by rubbing specialized scales PNAS, August 19, 2008; 105(33): 11812 - 11817. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Sueur, J. F. C. Windmill, and D. Robert Sexual dimorphism in auditory mechanics: tympanal vibrations of Cicada orni J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2008; 211(15): 2379 - 2387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Yack, L. Otero, J. Dawson, A Surlykke, and J. Fullard Sound production and hearing in the blue cracker butterfly Hamadryas feronia (Lepidoptera, nymphalidae) from Venezuela J. Exp. Biol., January 12, 2000; 203(24): 3689 - 3702. [Abstract] [PDF]