Retinal Specialization and Feeding Behavior in Nocturnal vs. Diurnal Moths

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Insects that feed on flowers are particularly dependent on vision. Most visual research on insects has been done on species active during the day, or diurnal. We know little about the visual adaptations in nocturnal insects like moths that allow them to maneuver through a complex environment such as tropical forest, and find flowers in near darkness. Visually-guided behaviors such as nectar feeding from flowers are driven by specific color-sensitive sensory cells and specialized subdivisions of the retina of their large compound eyes. This project uses biochemistry and molecular biology to characterize and localize the light-sensitive proteins (rhodopsins) for color vision in the eye of the hawkmoth Manduca. Behavioral and anatomical work on other hawkmoth species which have day-feeding and non-feeding adults are compared to the night-feeding species. Results will highlight the particular adaptations for visual feeding at night, and be compared with the large knowledge base about flower visitation by bees and butterflies. This project has ecological significance because a substantial proportion of tropical plant pollination depends on hawkmoths, and it also is important for evolutionary biology, as well as visual neurobiology.