Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Pupil dynamics reveal the tuning of tortricid moths to diel activity.","authors":"Alejandro Martín-Gabarrella, César Gemeno, Aleš Škorjanc, Andrej Meglič, Gregor Belušič","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01759-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01759-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Insect compound eyes adapt in response to average stimulus intensity, but the adaptation is mediated also by intrinsic circadian rhythms and abiotic factors like temperature, which are indirectly related to the stimulus. We studied the effect of light, circadian rhythm, temperature and body size on light adaptation in Grapholita molesta (GM), Lobesia botrana (LB) and Cydia pomonella (CP) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). These moths have superposition compound eyes with identical trichromatic photoreceptor sets and temporal resolution; however, the adults are sexually active before (GM), during (LB) or after (CP) sunset, and experience very different light intensity and temperature variations during their activity period. Their eyes were examined with infrared pupillometry, light microscopy and micro-CT. The compound eyes are very small to medium-sized, with a clearly visible superposition pupil. The pupil reflectance of adults entrained to a 12/12 h light/dark cycle for 2 days maintained the entrained rhythm for days, closing and opening during the subjective day and night, respectively. Circadian rhythm was the most robust in CP. A fully open pupil was forced to close with a light pulse, and pupil brightness changes were monitored at 15 and 22 °C. The experiment revealed complex and different pupil dynamics among species at both temperatures. GM, the smallest species, was most affected by the lower temperature. The experimental paradigm can be used for high-throughput, non-invasive monitoring of multiple species' response to climate change, and to chemical and light pollution.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"271-281"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086707/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145253839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The lepidopteran analyst: how caterpillars, moths and butterflies encode taste identity and valence.","authors":"Dimitri Peftuloglu, Joop J A van Loon, Alexander Haverkamp","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01788-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01788-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The sense of taste is crucial for butterflies and moths to accomplish important life tasks such as feeding or selecting suitable oviposition sites. In Lepidoptera taste is of special importance since they are constantly confronted with a vast amount of plant secondary metabolites combined with sugars, amino acids and other primary metabolites that they need to fuel their metabolism. The high importance of many tastants for feeding and oviposition gives these compounds a strong innate meaning for the animal. During associative learning this positive or negative valence often functions as reward or punishment, giving the sense of taste an important role during memory formation. In this review we first address some general mechanisms of gustatory detection before focusing on the taste system of caterpillars and adult Lepidoptera specifically. We list recent examples of receptor genes for which the main ligands have been identified, but place special emphasis on the neuronal and behavioral responses to different tastants. Thereafter the detection of primary and secondary metabolites is reviewed, with a focus on the role of secondary plant metabolites during host-plant choice. Finally, we compiled different results on the taste processing in the lepidopteran brain and highlight the role of taste during associative learning. In this review we combined information on the role of taste for both innate and learned responses of Lepidoptera to their environment, aiming to provide a starting point for further explorations into this essential sensory modality.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"179-195"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086748/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145851350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies - neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world.","authors":"Robin Grob, Max S Farnworth, Jacqueline Degen, Eric Warrant, Stephen H Montgomery, Basil El Jundi","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01780-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01780-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, display an astonishing diversity of spatial orientation strategies essential for survival, reproduction, and ecological success. These spatial orientation strategies range from basic taxes to light, wind, gravity, and chemical cues, to more advanced strategies such as straight-line dispersal, multigenerational migration across continents, and complex trap-lining foraging involving long-term spatial memory. These orientation behaviours are tightly integrated with the ecological roles of lepidopterans as pollinators, prey, and bioindicators, and are supported by a flexible neuronal network. Of special interest for successful orientation are higher-order integration centres like the mushroom bodies (centres for learning and memory) and the central complex (the centre for spatial orientation and locomotion). These centres support cue integration, compass orientation, memory, and directional decision-making. However, anthropogenic stressors, including habitat fragmentation, light pollution, pesticides, and electromagnetic noise, threaten both the environmental cues and the neural systems facilitating lepidopteran navigation, with potential cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem health. By combining insights from behavioural ecology, neurobiology, and conservation, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges and adaptations that shape the navigational toolkit of lepidopterans, underlining their significance as animal models for studying spatial orientation in a changing world.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"313-336"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086802/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145459869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural bottlenecks: axon count, distribution, and conduction in the Manduca sexta neck connective.","authors":"Leo Wood, Karrah Hayes, Varun Sharma, Eric Sun, Max Chen, Simon Sponberg","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01755-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01755-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Large flying insects precisely control fast maneuvers, a demanding task made more difficult by the limitation that all information between the brain and body is transmitted through a single transmission line, the neck connective. Despite this neuroanatomical structure constraining both the amount and timing of all information between the brain and body, little is known about how severe these bottlenecks are. We sought to understand this structure in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta by directly measuring axon count and conduction velocities in their neck connective, using a nanometer-scale complete map of the neck connective in concert with microelectrode array recordings from hundreds of neurons. We hypothesized that Manduca opts for a large spatial bottleneck, with comparatively few neurons in their neck connective compared to their brain size, but latency constraints of agile flight necessitate adaptations for increased conduction velocity compared to small insects. Manduca had 8,874 total neck connective axons, a number similar to fruit flies despite Manduca’s order of magnitude greater body and brain size. Yet Manduca had far more giant axons, and the average conduction velocity of those axons exceeded 2 m/s, indicating a strong pressure on reducing neck connective latency. Both ascending and descending units were equally fast, and analyzing how velocity scales with diameter suggested adaptations beyond just axon size are increasing velocity. This data indicates Manduca’s neck connective faces similar requirements to other species in terms of number of neurons, but more acute pressures for higher conduction velocity and reduced latency in the neck connective.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"391-408"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086705/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144979256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Graded opsin co-expression along the butterfly retina fine tunes the spectral sensitivity of a colour-opponent cell across the visual field.","authors":"Andrew Dang, Uroš Cerkvenik, Marko Ilić, Primož Pirih, Eva Debevc, Adriana D Briscoe, Gregor Belušič","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01761-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01761-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Compound eyes deliver a vast stream of information to the tiny insect brains. To maximize the information content and minimize the redundancy of neural signals, insect eyes are built so to encode the relevant and filter out the unimportant elements of the visual environment. Terrestrial habitats have a predictable spatio-spectral structure, which can be matched by the distribution of photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities across the retina. Here, we investigate the retinal organization of the nymphalid butterfly Heliconius melpomene using single-cell recordings, immunohistochemistry and eye shine imaging. The ventral retina is enriched with ommatidia, which contain red screening pigments that shape the spectral sensitivity of basal red receptors R9, while their long visual fibre photoreceptors R1&2, expressing a long-wavelength (L) opsin, are synaptically inhibited by R9 and directly participate in colour vision. These G + R- receptors frequently co-express the L opsin with the blue (B) or ultraviolet (U) opsin. U&L opsin-co-expressing R1&2 are scarce, while B&L co-expression is frequent in the ventral ommatidia and gradually diminishes towards the eye equator, where G + R- receptors express the L opsin only. In this region, G + R- receptors are further inhibited by blue-sensitive receptors. With electrophysiology matching immunohistochemistry, we reveal the fine tuning of spectral sensitivity of a single photoreceptor class across the dorso-ventral axis of the butterfly compound eye. Similar tuning is found in other nymphalid butterflies across the phylogeny, suggesting that this adaptation is ancestral and confers an advantage to those diurnal nymphalids, equipped with the cellular toolkit for colour vision in the red.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"245-258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086795/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145152097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cellular innovations and diversity in the lepidopteran compound eye.","authors":"Wei Lu, Marcus R Kronforst","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01751-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01751-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lepidoptera, having co-diversified with flowering plants and adapted to various diel niches, present a remarkable system for studying compound eye cell type diversity. Here we synthesize the latest research regarding Lepidopteran eye evolution across different timescales, from species-level variation to family-level changes, and mechanistic levels, from broad anatomical variation to molecular mechanisms responsible for spectral tuning. Opsin duplication, differential expression, and co-expression, combined with lateral filtering pigments, generate diverse spectral sensitivities in photoreceptors. Lateral filtering is particularly important for the convergent evolution of red vision. These diverse photoreceptors combine to form a handful of ommatidial types distributed differentially across eye regions, potentially specializing for distinct behavioral tasks. The coordinated development of these complex retinal mosaics requires precise regulatory mechanisms that we are only beginning to understand. Notably, only a subset of these ommatidial types contribute to color vision, highlighting the need for more research on their roles in motion and polarization vision. We also review support cells providing essential functions such as light insulation or reflection. Future research should focus on identifying ecological pressures driving visual system evolution, genetic bases of diverse retinal mosaics, and neural integration of visual information in Lepidoptera.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"223-242"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12467619/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144745998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From skylight cues to magnetic fields: the toolkit of insect long-distance navigation.","authors":"Kayla M Goforth, Christine Merlin","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01770-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01770-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite their tiny size, lepidopterans accomplish some of the most extraordinary migrations on Earth. Monarch butterflies and bogong moths, for example, travel vast distances to find the same seasonal sheltering sites year after year, and remarkably do so without any prior experience. How do these delicate creatures navigate so precisely across large and changing landscapes? Scientists have spent decades unraveling this mystery, revealing that lepidopterans possess a sophisticated suite of navigational tools that rival those of much larger animals. Lepidopteran compass systems rely on celestial cues like the sun, stars, and polarized light, as well as the Earth's magnetic field. Diurnal monarchs and nocturnal bogong moths have become model species for understanding how insects combine skylight and magnetic compasses to find their way. Recent discoveries have shed light on the neural circuits and genetic blueprints that power these compasses. In this review, we provide an overview of the navigational toolkit employed by lepidopteran migrants, dive into their mechanisms, and highlight future directions needed to fully decode the secrets of insect long-distance navigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"337-358"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145379356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-limited diversification of the eye in Heliconius cydno butterflies.","authors":"Nathan P Buerkle, Nicholas W VanKuren, Erica L Westerman, Marcus R Kronforst, Stephanie E Palmer","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01768-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01768-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Butterflies have evolved a remarkable diversity in eye organization to support a range of vision-based behaviors including courtship, oviposition, and foraging. This diversity has been surveyed extensively across the butterfly phylogeny, but variation across closely related species remains less clear. We compared eye organization in Heliconius cydno, a clade of mimetic, Neotropical butterflies that have been studied in the context of wing coloration and courtship. Using a combination of eyeshine and opsin immunohistochemistry, we identified several sexually dimorphic features of eye organization where male eyes varied with species and female eyes did not. These features included the distribution of a red screening pigment across the eye, co-expression of the two UV opsins within single photoreceptors, and the relative distribution of UV and blue opsin expression in R1/R2 photoreceptors. Together, this suggests a shift in H. cydno males from an ancestor strongly biased towards the expanded Nymphalid mosaic characterized by blue and long wavelength opsin co-expression, red screening pigment, and green vs. red inter-photoreceptor opponency to one biased towards the basic mosaic consisting of UV-UV, Blue-Blue, and UV-Blue ommatidia. We hypothesize that this sex-limited variability may function to adapt these butterflies to sexually dimorphic behaviors like courtship and oviposition in the context of the natural light environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"259-269"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12978942/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145309864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hawkmoths can smell with grooming organs on their legs.","authors":"Ahmed Reda Ismaieel, Regina Stieber, Bill S Hansson, Sonja Bisch-Knaden","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01769-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01769-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The antennae are the primary olfactory organs of insects, though other appendages, such as mouthparts and the female ovipositor, can also detect odors. A prerequisite for the olfactory function of an appendage is the presence of sensilla with porous walls and the expression of chemosensory receptors by sensory neurons housed in these sensilla. In the tobacco hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, we demonstrate that the epiphysis, a small process on the tibia of the forelegs that is used to clean the antennae, is an olfactory organ. The epiphysis carries approximately 150 sensilla with wall pores, suggesting an olfactory function. Additionally, the epiphysis expresses a variety of chemosensory receptor genes. We identified the expression of ORCo, the obligate co-receptor of odorant receptors (ORs), as well as 54 tuning ORs. Moreover, the epiphysis expresses 22 ionotropic receptors (IRs), including the co-receptors IR8a, IR25a, and IR76b, and 33 gustatory receptors (GRs). Several of these IRs and GRs had not previously been found in the antennae or other appendages. Electrophysiological recordings from isolated epiphyses revealed responses to odorants from several chemical classes, host plant leaves, and the female pheromone gland. The strongest responses were elicited by acids and the amine pyrrolidine. Epiphysectomy did not affect courtship or foraging behavior; however, epiphysectomized females were less likely to reach a host plant than controls. Our study reveals the epiphysis of M. sexta to be a previously unknown olfactory appendage with a broad and partly unique chemosensory repertoire. Because the epiphysis is a constitutive feature of lepidopteran insects, its olfactory function may be present in most moths and butterflies.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"197-209"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086689/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145370593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emerging tools to advance neuroethology in butterflies and moths.","authors":"Francesco Cicconardi, Max S Farnworth, Robin Grob, Donya N Shodja, Caroline N Bacquet, Basil El Jundi, Arnaud Martin, Stephen H Montgomery","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01785-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01785-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Butterflies and moths have played historically important roles in developing our understanding of both ecology and evolutionary biology, and neuroethology. In both contexts, the diversity of behavioral strategies and specializations displayed by different Lepidoptera make them informative case studies. However, as in neuroscience more broadly, lepidopteran neuroethology has tended to focus on intricate functional studies within a small number of the most tractable species. In contrast, ecologists and evolutionary biologists have often taken a broader view, using phylogenetic and comparative approaches to extract general patterns of diversification, and to exploit the diversity of butterflies and moths to understand general evolutionary processes. Uniting these approaches and traditions has been restricted, largely due to technical challenges of working with unestablished study systems and a lack of resources beyond basic tools. Now, however, the prospects for broader comparative studies of the neural basis of behavior within a phylogenetic and/or ecological framework are increasingly positive. This is in large part due to the emergence of new molecular sequencing approaches and associated tools. These allow for the survey of cell types, the spatial location of their soma, development of new cell-type markers for targeted analyses, and quantification of the dynamic regulation of gene expression at a tissue or cell specific level. Results of these molecular methods can be combined with technical developments in free flying behavioral experiments in tethered animals that permit neural recordings of natural behavior, and functional genetics tools that can allow for more precise manipulation of these behaviors or the neural structures that support them. Here, we review these new approaches, their potential application, and discuss how we can use them to advance the development of new, integrative systems for studying the neural basis of behavior in butterflies and moths.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"433-457"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086684/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145716728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}