Floral CO2 reveals flower profitability to moths
Floral CO2 reveals flower profitability to moths
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DOI：
10.1023/b:joec.0000030298.77377.7d
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发表时间：
2004-06-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Hildebrand, JG
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Thom, C;Guerenstein, PG;Hildebrand, JG
天蛾（鳞翅目：蛛科）是一种实验上有利的鳞翅目动物，对二氧化碳（CO2）高度敏感，以一系列开花植物的花蜜为食，如曼陀罗（曼陀罗科）。新开的曼陀罗花释放出高浓度的二氧化碳，并提供丰富的花蜜。因此，植物的二氧化碳排放量可以表明食物来源的盈利能力。这项研究证明，曼陀罗蛾更喜欢释放高水平二氧化碳的替代花，这是新开放的曼陀罗花的特征。我们首次表明，二氧化碳可能在采蜜昆虫的觅食行为中起重要作用。
The hawkmoth Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), an experimentally favorable Lepidopteran that is highly sensitive to carbon dioxide (CO2), feeds on the nectar of a range of flowering plants, such as Datura wrightii (Solanaceae). Newly opened Datura flowers give off dramatically elevated levels of CO2 and offer ample nectar. Thus, floral CO2 emission could indicate food-source profitability. This study documents that foraging Manduca moths prefer surrogate flowers that emit high levels of CO2, characteristic of newly opened Datura flowers. We show for the first time that CO2 may play an important role in the foraging behavior of nectar-feeding insects.