The role of infrared radiation in flight control in pyrophilous Australian insects

将首次对飞行的嗜火昆虫进行实验，以研究红外辐射在飞行控制中的作用。将测试澳大利亚不同喜火昆虫的红外受体是否用于检测远程森林火灾和/或用于在新燃烧区域上揭示热点马赛克的近场定位。在定量方法中，将测试昆虫在受到强IR辐射刺激时是否表现出回避行为以及它们是否试图接近弱IR源。根据嗜火昆虫依靠可见光和红外辐射的双峰感觉输入来探测火灾的假设，设计了行为实验来阐明电磁辐射在火灾探测中的作用。因此，将测试嗜火昆虫如何对单独施加或以各种组合施加的视觉和红外刺激作出反应。

For the first time experiments with flying pyrophilous insects will be made to investigate the role of IR radiation in flight control. It will be tested whether the IR receptors of different pyrophilous Australian insects serve for the detection of remote forest fires and/or for near-field orientation on a freshly burnt area revealing a mosaic of hot spots.For this purpose behavioral experiments with insects in restrained flight conditions will be made. In a quantitative approach it will be tested if insects show avoidance behavior when stimulated with strong IR radiation and if they try to approach weak IR sources. According to the hypothesis that pyrophilous insects rely on bimodal sensory input comprising of visible and infrared radiation for fire detection, the behavioral experiments are designed to clarify the role of electromagnetic radiation in fire detection. Thus it will be tested how pyrophilous insects react to visual and infrared stimuli applied separately or in various combinations.