Evolutionary functional morphology of the proboscis and feeding apparatus of hawk moths (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera).

ABSTRACT: The morphology of the proboscis and associated feeding organs was studied in several nectar-feeding hawk moths, as well as a specialized honey-feeder and two supposedly nonfeeding species. The proboscis lengths ranged from a few millimeters to more than 200 mm. Despite the variation in proboscis length and feeding strategy, the principle external and internal composition of the galeae, the stipes pump, and the suction pump were similar across all species. The morphology of the smooth and slender proboscis is highly conserved among all lineages of nectar-feeding Sphingidae. Remarkably, they share a typical arrangement of the sensilla at the tip. The number and length of sensilla styloconica are independent from proboscis length. A unique proboscis morphology was found in the honey-feeding s

SUBMITTER: Reinwald C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9825987 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature