Flight muscle and flight activity of Junonia almana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Apis dorsata (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

Flight ability is a felicity for insects not only to fly around but also to other important purposes like to acquire mates, feed, communicate, defend, disperse and locate host plants (Engel 2015). With this incentive, the present study was conducted to examine the flight activity and flight muscle of Junonia almana (both male and female) butterfly and Apis dorsata worker honey bee at 30 ± 5oC and 75% RH. By following the tethered flight technique for one hour it was found that among the three (male and female butterfly and honey bee), female butterflies flew more times (21.65 ± 5.98 min) compared with others. Similarly, in terms of the measurement (mean length, breadth and volume) of forewing and dorso-longitudinal muscle, female butterfly showed higher value than male butterfly and honey bee. Butterflies occupy a vital position in the ecosystem by playing role as pollinators of plants promoting genetic diversity and contributing to natural sustainability and for their role as indicators of environmental quality (Reddi et al. 2002). They are called accidental pollinators that unintentionally pick up pollen on their legs and body while perching on flowers to forage for nectar (Boggs and Ross 1993). Butterflies heavily depend on their flight ability to get mates, feed, disperse and locate host plants. Besides chemical defenses and camouflage, adult butterflies rely on their flight ability to avoid predation (Chai and Srygley 1990). Honey bees play an important role in ecology as pollinators of many plant species. Their products have great commercial importance around the world. They are major agricultural pollinators and are keystone pollinators especially in tropical ecosystems (Suwannapong et al. 2012). Conservation of many habitats depends upon the preservation of bee populations. Reproduction of major elements of flora may be severely limited if the bee population disappear (Michener 2000). Among the castes of honey bee colony, only the worker bees act as forager. Worker honey bees are sterile female. The flight ability of a bee is determined by many factors, including the mass of the bee, the mass of the