Collaborative Research: Perception and Use of Infrared Radiation by Insects

该项目将调查昆虫探测和响应红外光的能力，红外光是一种波长长于可见光的电磁辐射。从蜜蜂、甲虫和蝴蝶等各种昆虫中，人们知道动物已经进化出不同的策略来感知和利用电磁波。为感知或控制电磁波而进化的器官在复杂程度和效率上往往超过了类似的人造设备。到目前为止，这一研究领域的大部分注意力都集中在昆虫感知较短波长的光的能力上；对动物如何对较长波长的光做出反应的了解要少得多，部分原因是研究光谱这一端的工具直到最近才变得普遍。在这项研究中，物理学家和生物学家将合作研究几个模型系统，包括飞蛾的触角和蝴蝶的特殊翼鳞，以了解昆虫如何感知和利用红外线。通过“仿生”理解和利用自然设计概念将加深我们对复杂生物系统的了解，并启发我们创造新技术的想法。这项研究将为生物和物理研究生提供纳米技术方面的培训机会。该项目的目标是了解昆虫感知和响应红外光的能力背后的物理机制，并获得可用于创造新型红外材料、设备和系统的工程学见解。红外信号可能在昆虫的各种行为中发挥着关键而被忽视的作用。该项目将通过分析两个系统来定量了解昆虫对宽带热辐射和窄带指纹红外辐射的感知和响应能力：(1)超多样化的Eumaeini部落(鳞翅目：Lycaenidae)蝴蝶物种翅膀上的气味垫和斑块，它们显示出极宽的宽带，接近统一的吸收/发射率；(2)不同蛾物种触角上的专门感受器，能够以高波长特异性和高效率捕获红外光。将使用多学科研究平台对昆虫模型进行研究。红外敏感器官将通过单感受器电生理记录和行为生物测定以及光谱和时间控制的红外刺激来识别。红外传感器官的形态将使用扫描电子显微镜和X射线微层析成像进行研究。传感器的光学特性将使用傅里叶变换红外光谱、红外显微镜和有限差分时间域电磁波模拟来研究。利用纳米和微制造技术制作红外传感微结构或其比例模型的高保真复制品，系统地分析传感器的材料特性、结构和排列对红外探测的灵敏度和波长特异性的影响。以前还没有人对昆虫感知和响应红外信号的机制进行过详细的研究，对这一现象的更多了解可能会为科学界催生一个新的研究领域。该项目将扩大我们对自然选择如何塑造精致适应的行为和结构的理解。

The project will investigate the ability of insects to detect and respond to infrared light, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than that of visible light. It is known from insects as diverse as honeybees, beetles and butterflies that animals have evolved diverse strategies to perceive and utilize electromagnetic waves. Organs evolved for perceiving or controlling electromagnetic waves often surpass similar man-made devices in both sophistication and efficiency. To date, most of the focus in this area of research has been on the abilities of insects to perceive shorter wavelengths of light; much less is known about how animals respond to longer wavelengths, in part because the tools to investigate this end of the spectrum have only recently become commonly available. In this research, physicists and biologists will collaborate in studying a few model systems, including the antennae of moths and specialized wing scales of butterflies, to understand how insects can perceive and utilize infrared light. Understanding and harnessing natural design concepts through "biomimicry" will deepen our knowledge of complex biological systems and inspire ideas for creating new technologies. The research will provide training opportunities in nanotechnology for graduate students in biology and physics. The objectives of the project are to understand the physical mechanisms underlying the ability of insects to perceive and respond to infrared light, and to obtain engineering insights that can be used to create novel infrared materials, devices and systems. Infrared signals may play a critical and underappreciated role in a wide variety of insect behaviors. This project will provide a quantitative understanding of insects' abilities to sense and respond to broadband thermal radiation and narrowband fingerprint infrared radiation by analyzing two systems: (1) Scent pads and patches on the wings of butterfly species in the hyperdiverse tribe Eumaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) that show extremely broadband, close-to-unity absorptivity/emissivity, and (2) Specialized sensilla on the antennae of different moth species that are able to capture infrared light with high wavelength-specificity and efficiency. The model insects will be studied using a multidisciplinary research platform. The infrared-sensing organs will be identified using single-sensillum electrophysiological recordings and behavioral bioassays with spectrally and temporally controlled infrared stimulation. The morphology of the infrared-sensing organs will be studied using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray micro-tomography. The optical properties of the sensilla will be studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, infrared microscopy, and finite-difference time-domain electromagnetic wave simulations. High-fidelity replicas of the infrared-sensing microstructures or their scaled models will be fabricated using nano- and micro-fabrication to systematically analyze how material properties, structures and arrangement of the sensilla affect the sensitivity and wavelength-specificity of infrared detection. Detailed studies of the mechanisms by which insects perceive and respond to infrared signals have not been carried out before, and a greater understanding of this phenomenon is likely to catalyze a new area of research for the scientific community. The project will expand our understanding of how natural selection can shape exquisitely adapted behaviors and structures.