Abstract
Most species of Parnara and Pelopidas (Hesperiidae) are important pests of rice. In this study, the antennal morphology, types of sensilla, and their distribution of four skipper butterflies, including Parnara guttata (Bremer & Grey), Pa. bada (Moore), Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius) and Pe. agna (Moore), were observed using a scanning electron microscope. Six distinct morphological types of sensilla were found on the antennae of all of these species: sensilla squamiformia, sensilla trichodea, sensilla chaetica, sensilla auricillica, sensilla coeloconica, and Böhm sensilla. The sensilla trichodea are the most abundant sensilla among the four skipper butterflies, and the sensilla auricillica are confirmed on the antennae of butterflies for the second time. In addition, the possible functions of these sensilla are discussed in the light of previously reported lepidopteran insects, which may provide useful information for further study of the function of these antennal sensilla and for related pests control by applying sex pheromones.
Highlights
The antennae of insects have various types of sensilla that play important roles in insect behaviors, including host location, feeding, mate attraction and oviposition (Zacharuk 1980; Skiri et al 2005)
Sensilla squamiformia are commonly present in lepidopteran insects (Faucheux 1999)
The sensilla squamiformia found in this study are similar in shape and distribution to those reported in two other butterfly species, Teinopalpus aureus Mell and Heliophorus phoenicoparyphus (Holland) (Jiang et al 2000; Xu and Wang 2013); but the shape and distribution of these sensilla are different from several reported moth species, Synanthedon scitula (Harris), Coleophora sp. and Zamagiria dixolophella Dyar (Frank et al 2010; Faucheux 2011; Gómez et al 2003) and different from Coleoptera (Hix et al 2003; Gao et al 2013)
Summary
The antennae of insects have various types of sensilla that play important roles in insect behaviors, including host location, feeding, mate attraction and oviposition (Zacharuk 1980; Skiri et al 2005). The structure and function of antennal sensillae in Lepidoptera have been well known for decades (Anderson et al 2000), little research has involved butterflies, especially some important pest species. Parnara guttata (Bremer & Grey), Parnara bada (Moore), Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius) and Pelopidas agna (Moore) are among the most important pests of rice in China. The larvae of these four species feed on the leaves of rice, causing considerable damage and great loss of rice production. In order to better understand their olfactory system related to the biological control of these four skippers, we researched the type, size, and distribution of antennal sensilla of Pa. guttata (Bremer & Grey), Pa. bada (Moore), Pe. mathias (Fabricius) and Pe. agna (Moore)
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