Insect pectinate antennae maximize odor capture efficiency at intermediate flight speeds.

ABSTRACT: Flying insects are known to orient themselves over large distances using minute amounts of odors. Some bear pectinate antennae of remarkable architecture thought to improve olfactory performance. The semiporous, multiscale nature of these antennae influences how odor molecules reach their surface. We focus here on the repeating structural building blocks of these antennae in Saturniid moths. This microstructure consists of one ramus or branch and its many hair-like sensilla, responsible for chemical detection. We experimentally determined leakiness, defined as the proportion of air going through the microstructure rather than flowing around it, by particle image velocimetry visualization of the flow around three-dimensional printed scaled-up mock-ups. The combination of these results with

SUBMITTER: Jaffar-Bandjee M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7668092 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature