Dataset Information

The unusual tracheal system within the wing membrane of a dragonfly.

ABSTRACT: Some consider that the first winged insects had living tissue inside the wing membrane, resembling larval gills or developing wing pads. However, throughout the developmental process of the wing membrane of modern insects, cells and tracheoles in the lumen between dorsal and ventral cuticle disappear and both cuticles become fused. This process results in the rather thin rigid stable structure of the membrane. The herewith described remarkable case of the dragonfly Zenithoptera lanei shows that in some highly specialized wings, the membrane can still be supplemented by tracheae. Such a characteristic of the wing membrane presumably represents a strong specialization for the synthesis of melanin-filled nanolayers of the cuticle, nanospheres inside the wing membrane and complex arrangement of wax crystals on the membrane surface, all responsible for unique structural coloration.

SUBMITTER: Guillermo-Ferreira R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5454234 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The unusual tracheal system within the wing membrane of a dragonfly.

Guillermo-Ferreira Rhainer R Appel Esther E Urban Paulina P Bispo Pitágoras C PC Gorb Stanislav N SN

Biology letters 20170501 5

Some consider that the first winged insects had living tissue inside the wing membrane, resembling larval gills or developing wing pads. However, throughout the developmental process of the wing membrane of modern insects, cells and tracheoles in the lumen between dorsal and ventral cuticle disappear and both cuticles become fused. This process results in the rather thin rigid stable structure of the membrane. The herewith described remarkable case of the dragonfly <i>Zenithoptera lanei</i> show ...[more]

PMID: 28515332

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Project description:Insect wings show a high variability in wing venation. Selection for function, developmental pathways and phylogeny likely influenced wing vein diversification, however, quantitative data to estimate these influences and their interplay are missing. Here, it is tested how dragonfly wing vein configuration is influenced by functional demands, development, phylogeny and allometry using the concepts of modularity and integration. In an evolutionary context, modules are sets of characters that evolve in relative independence to other characters, while integration refers to a high degree of association between subparts of a structure. Results show allometric and phylogenetic signal in the wing shape variation, however, patterns of integration and modularity are not influenced by these two factors. Overall, dragonfly wings are highly integrated structures with almost no modular signal. Configuration changes in one wing vein or wing area thus influence wing shape as a whole. Moreover, the fore- and hindwings correlate with each other in their evolutionary shape variation supporting biomechanical data of wing interdependence. Despite the overall high degree of evolutionary integration, functional hypotheses of modularity could be confirmed for two wing areas, the arculus-triangle complex at the base of the wing which is responsible for passive wing folding especially during flapping flight and the location of the pterostigma, a coloured wing cell which is more heavy that other wing cells and passively regulates wing pitch as well as critical flight speeds during gliding. Although evolving as distinct modules, these specific vein regions also show high integration and evolve at the same rates like the whole wing which suggests an influence of these structures on the shape evolution of the rest of the wing. Their biomechanical role as passive regulators of wing corrugation and wing pitch suggests that these structures decisively influenced the evolution of advanced modern flight styles and explains their retention once they had evolved early within the lineage Odonatoptera.

Dataset Information

The unusual tracheal system within the wing membrane of a dragonfly.

Publications

The unusual tracheal system within the wing membrane of a dragonfly.

Similar Datasets

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