Long Frontal Projections Help Battus philenor (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) Larvae Find Host Plants.

ABSTRACT: Animals sometimes develop conspicuous projections on or near their heads as, e.g., weaponry, burrowing or digging tools, and probes to search for resources. The frontal projections that insects generally use to locate and assess resources are segmented appendages, including antennae, maxillary palps, and labial palps. There is no evidence to date that arthropods, including insects, use projections other than true segmental appendages to locate food. In this regard, it is noteworthy that some butterfly larvae possess a pair of long antenna-like projections on or near their heads. To date, the function of these projections has not been established. Larvae of pipevine swallowtail butterflies Battus philenor (Papilionidae) have a pair of long frontal fleshy projections that, like insect antenn

SUBMITTER: Kandori I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4519131 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature