Odor-guided flight in moths, page 3
In a larger evolutionary and ecological context insects and other animals use this multi-sensory approach to locate many distant unseen resources critical for their survival. We know that in nature the males of our moths use plumes of sex-attractant odors to locate females for mating; females use plumes of odors issuing from only certain species of plants to locate sites to lay their eggs; and both males and females use scents from night-blooming flowers to locate sources of sugar-rich nectar to refuel their flight motors. For the past few years I have been collaborating with Dr. Robert Raguso to study what types of information hawkmoths use to locate and identify night-blooming flowers for feeding 
Approaching the flowerWe have also begun to learn how the moths control their approach to flowers for hovering and feeding. This work has been done in collaboration with Dr. Martina Wicklein. |