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The importance of antennal mechanosensilla of Sepedon fuscipennis (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2013

John G. Stoffolano Jr. ,
Marian Rice  and
William L. Murphy
John G. Stoffolano Jr.*
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States of America
Marian Rice
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075, United States of America
William L. Murphy
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Institution, 7835 Tufton Street, Fishers, Indiana 46038, United States of America
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: stoff@ent.umass.edu).
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Abstract

The styli, often called the aristae, of the antennae of adult Sepedon fuscipennis Loew (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) are shown to possess mechanosensilla, the number and arrangement of which differ between the sexes. It is suggested that the mechanosensilla provide sensory input to the female regarding the touching, or appositioning, of her styli by the male with his forelegs during copulation. Among the Sciomyzidae, S.fuscipennis males are unique in appositioning the antennae of the female during mating. Large clusters of pollen found on the styli of both sexes suggest that mechanosensilla and chemosensilla also provide sensory information about potential sources of food such as nectar (i.e., carbohydrates).

Résumé

Nous démontrons que les styles, souvent appelés aristas, des antennes des Sepedon fuscipennis Loew (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) adultes possèdent des sensilles mécanoréceptrices, dont le nombre et la disposition varient selon le sexe. Nous croyons que ces sensilles mécanoréceptrices fournissent des signaux sensoriels à la femelle durant l'accouplement lorsque le mâle touche les styles de la femelle en y apposant ses pattes antérieures. Chez les Sciomyzidae, les mâles de Sepedon sont les seuls à pratiquer cette apposition des pattes sur les antennes de la femelle durant l'accouplement. La présence d'importants amas de pollen sur les styles des deux sexes laisse croire que les sensilles mécanoréceptrices et chémoréceptrices procurent aussi des renseignements sur les sources potentielles de nourriture, telles que le nectar et donc les hydrates de carbone.

Type
Systematics & Morphology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 145 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 265 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2013 

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