Floral CO2 emission may indicate food abundance to nectar-feeding moths
Floral CO2 emission may indicate food abundance to nectar-feeding moths
复制标题
DOI：
10.1007/s00114-004-0532-x
复制
发表时间：
2004-07-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Hildebrand, JG
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Guerenstein, PG;Yepez, EA;Hildebrand, JG
为了研究取蜜蛾（Manduca sexta）对CO2的感觉子系统的作用，我们研究了Manduca的首选寄主植物曼陀罗（Datura wright）花的CO2释放和花蜜分泌。曼陀罗花在黄昏开放，到第二天中午就枯萎了。在黄昏后的最初几个小时里，当曼杜卡树进食时，花朵会产生相当数量的花蜜，并释放出二氧化碳水平，附近的飞蛾应该可以检测到。然而，到了午夜，花蜜分泌和二氧化碳释放都显著减少。因为花蜜的生产需要高代谢活动，高的花二氧化碳排放可能表明食物丰富的飞蛾。我们认为悬停飞蛾可以利用花朵释放的二氧化碳来帮助它们在尝试觅食之前评估花蜜含量，以提高它们的觅食效率。
As part of a study of the roles of the sensory subsystem devoted to CO2 in the nectar-feeding moth Manduca sexta, we investigated CO2 release and nectar secretion by flowers of Datura wrightii, a preferred hostplant of Manduca. Datura flowers open at dusk and wilt by the following noon. During the first hours after dusk, when Manduca feeds, the flowers produce considerable amounts of nectar and emit levels of CO2 that should be detectable by moths nearby. By midnight, however, both nectar secretion and CO2 release decrease significantly. Because nectar production requires high metabolic activity, high floral CO2 emission may indicate food abundance to the moths. We suggest that hovering moths could use the florally emitted CO2 to help them assess the nectar content before attempting to feed in order to improve their foraging efficiency.