Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

29 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Moving like a model: mimicry of hymenopteran flight trajectories by clearwing moths of Southeast Asian rainforests.

ABSTRACT: Clearwing moths are known for their physical resemblance to hymenopterans, but the extent of their behavioural mimicry is unknown. We describe zigzag flights of sesiid bee mimics that are nearly indistinguishable from those of sympatric bees, whereas sesiid wasp mimics display faster, straighter flights more akin to those of wasps. In particular, the flight of the sesiids Heterosphecia pahangensis, Aschistophleps argentifasciata and Pyrophleps cruentata resembles both Tetragonilla collina and T. atripes stingless bees and, to a lesser extent, dwarf honeybees Apis andreniformis, whereas the sesiid Pyrophleps sp. resembles Tachysphex sp. wasps. These findings represent the first experimental evidence for behavioural mimicry in clearwing moths.

SUBMITTER: Skowron Volponi MA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6012703 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Publications

Moving like a model: mimicry of hymenopteran flight trajectories by clearwing moths of Southeast Asian rainforests.

Skowron Volponi Marta A MA McLean Donald James DJ Volponi Paolo P Dudley Robert R

Biology letters 20180501 5

Clearwing moths are known for their physical resemblance to hymenopterans, but the extent of their behavioural mimicry is unknown. We describe zigzag flights of sesiid bee mimics that are nearly indistinguishable from those of sympatric bees, whereas sesiid wasp mimics display faster, straighter flights more akin to those of wasps. In particular, the flight of the sesiids Heterosphecia pahangensis, Aschistophleps argentifasciata and Pyrophleps cruentata resembles both Tet ...[more]

PMID: 29720447

Similar Datasets

Southeast Asian clearwing moths buzz like their model bees.

Project description:BackgroundThe endless struggle to survive has driven harmless species to evolve elaborate strategies of deceiving predators. Batesian mimicry involves imitations of noxious species' warning signals by palatable mimics. Clearwing moths (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), incapable of inflicting painful bites or stings, resemble bees or wasps in their morphology and sometimes imitate their behaviours. An entirely unexplored type of deception in sesiids is acoustic mimicry. We recorded the buzzing sounds of two species of Southeast Asian clearwing moths, Heterosphecia pahangensis and H. hyaloptera and compared them to their visual model bee, Tetragonilla collina, and two control species of bees occurring in the same habitat. Recordings were performed on untethered, flying insects in nature.ResultsBased on eight acoustic parameters and wingbeat frequencies calculated from slow-motion videos, we found that the buzzes produced by both clearwing moths highly resemble those of T. collina but differ from the two control species of bees.ConclusionsAcoustic similarities to bees, alongside morphological and behavioural imitations, indicate that clearwing moths display multimodal mimicry of their evolutionary models.

| S-EPMC8262067 | biostudies-literature

The distinct morphological phenotypes of Southeast Asian aborigines are shaped by novel mechanisms for adaptation to tropical rainforests.

Project description:Southeast Asian aborigines, the hunter-gatherer populations living in tropical rainforests, exhibit distinct morphological phenotypes, including short stature, dark skin, curly hair and a wide and snub nose. The underlying genetic architecture and evolutionary mechanism of these phenotypes remain a long-term mystery. We conducted whole genome deep sequencing of 81 Cambodian aborigines from eight ethnic groups. Through a genome-wide scan of selective sweeps, we discovered key genes harboring Cambodian-enriched mutations that may contribute to their phenotypes, including two hair morphogenesis genes (TCHH and TCHHL1), one nasal morphology gene (PAX3) and a set of genes (such as ENTPD1-AS1) associated with short stature. The identified new genes and novel mutations suggest an independent origin of the distinct phenotypes in Cambodian aborigines through parallel evolution, refuting the long-standing argument on the common ancestry of these phenotypes among the worldwide rainforest hunter-gatherers. Notably, our discovery reveals that various types of molecular mechanisms, including antisense transcription and epigenetic regulation, contribute to human morphogenesis, providing novel insights into the genetics of human environmental adaptation.

| S-EPMC8970429 | biostudies-literature

Melanic variation underlies aposematic color variation in two hymenopteran mimicry systems.

Project description:The stinging hymenopteran velvet ants (Mutillidae) and bumble bees (Apidae: Bombus spp.) have both undergone extensive diversification in aposematic color patterns, including yellow-red hues and contrasting dark-light body coloration, as a result of Müllerian mimicry. Understanding the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying shifts in these mimetic colors requires characterization of their pigmentation. In this study, a combination of solubility, spectrophotometry, and melanin degradation analysis are applied to several color forms and species of these lineages to determine that orange-red colors in both lineages are comprised of primarily dopamine-derived pheomelanins. Until a few recent studies, pheomelanins were thought not to occur in insects. These results support their potential to occur across insects and particularly among the Hymenoptera. Shifts between black and orange-red colors, such as between mimetic color forms of bumble bee Bombus melanopygus, are inferred to involve modification of the ratios of dark eumelanins to red pheomelanins, thus implicating the melanin pathway in mimetic diversification. This discovery highlights the need to focus on how pheomelanins are synthesized in the insect melanin pathway and the potential for new pigments to be found even in some of our most well-known insect systems.

| S-EPMC5533327 | biostudies-literature

Integrated Identification and Genetic Diversity of Potentially Invasive Clearwing Moths (Lepidoptera: Cossoidea: Sesiidae) in Korea.

Project description:The populations of clearwing moth borers in Korea have recently caused extensive and severe damage to pin oaks (Quercus palustris Munchh.). We conducted field monitoring and molecular analyses to identify them in an integrated manner. Morphological examination and molecular analyses of the COI gene, based on intra- and interspecific genetic divergences (GDs), revealed that the borers were identified as two invasive species, Sphecodoptera sheni and Paranthrenella pinoakula sp. nov. The maximum intraspecific GD was found to be 1.9%, whereas the minimum interspecific GD was confirmed as 8.1%, indicating a distinct barcoding gap. Both the MJ network and NJ tree also showed that 18 haplotypes (Hs) were detected from the 52 COI sequences. The borers revealed a total of 17 Hs: (i) H1-H7 were detected in all seven regions with S. sheni; (ii) Wonju and Goyang populations of S. sheni revealed more than three Hs; (iii) H7 was closely connected with H8 of the Chinese population of S. sheni; (iv) H9-H10 were detected in other samples from the Wonju population with P. pinoakula sp. n. and were closely located with congeneric species. A maximum likelihood tree also revealed that P. pinoacula sp. n. nested within the congeneric species, genetically separating from S. sheni.

| S-EPMC10816279 | biostudies-literature

Maintaining mimicry diversity: optimal warning colour patterns differ among microhabitats in Amazonian clearwing butterflies.

Project description:Mimicry is one of the best-studied examples of adaptation, and recent studies have provided new insights into the role of mimicry in speciation and diversification. Classical Müllerian mimicry theory predicts convergence in warning signal among protected species, yet tropical butterflies are exuberantly diverse in warning colour patterns, even within communities. We tested the hypothesis that microhabitat partitioning in aposematic butterflies and insectivorous birds can lead to selection for different colour patterns in different microhabitats and thus help maintain mimicry diversity. We measured distribution across flight height and topography for 64 species of clearwing butterflies (Ithomiini) and their co-mimics, and 127 species of insectivorous birds, in an Amazon rainforest community. For the majority of bird species, estimated encounter rates were non-random for the two most abundant mimicry rings. Furthermore, most butterfly species in these two mimicry rings displayed the warning colour pattern predicted to be optimal for anti-predator defence in their preferred microhabitats. These conclusions were supported by a field trial using butterfly specimens, which showed significantly different predation rates on colour patterns in two microhabitats. We therefore provide the first direct evidence to support the hypothesis that different mimicry patterns can represent stable, community-level adaptations to differing biotic environments.

| S-EPMC5454276 | biostudies-literature

Predator mimicry: metalmark moths mimic their jumping spider predators.

Project description:Cases of mimicry provide many of the nature's most convincing examples of natural selection. Here we report evidence for a case of predator mimicry in which metalmark moths in the genus Brenthia mimic jumping spiders, one of their predators. In controlled trials, Brenthia had higher survival rates than other similarly sized moths in the presence of jumping spiders and jumping spiders responded to Brenthia with territorial displays, indicating that Brenthia were sometimes mistaken for jumping spiders, and not recognized as prey. Our experimental results and a review of wing patterns of other insects indicate that jumping spider mimicry is more widespread than heretofore appreciated, and that jumping spiders are probably an important selective pressure shaping the evolution of diurnal insects that perch on vegetation.

| S-EPMC1762363 | biostudies-literature

Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight.

Project description:One of the defining features of the aerial environment is its variability; air is almost never still. This has profound consequences for flying animals, affecting their flight stability, speed selection, energy expenditure and choice of flight path. All these factors have important implications for the ecology of flying animals, and the ecosystems they interact with, as well as providing bio-inspiration for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. In this introduction, we touch on the factors that drive the variability in airflows, the scales of variability and the degree to which given airflows may be predictable. We then summarize how papers in this volume advance our understanding of the sensory, biomechanical, physiological and behavioural responses of animals to air flows. Overall, this provides insight into how flying animals can be so successful in this most fickle of environments.This article is part of the themed issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'.

| S-EPMC4992706 | biostudies-other

The gene cortex controls mimicry and crypsis in butterflies and moths.

Project description:The wing patterns of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are diverse and striking examples of evolutionary diversification by natural selection. Lepidopteran wing colour patterns are a key innovation, consisting of arrays of coloured scales. We still lack a general understanding of how these patterns are controlled and whether this control shows any commonality across the 160,000 moth and 17,000 butterfly species. Here, we use fine-scale mapping with population genomics and gene expression analyses to identify a gene, cortex, that regulates pattern switches in multiple species across the mimetic radiation in Heliconius butterflies. cortex belongs to a fast-evolving subfamily of the otherwise highly conserved fizzy family of cell-cycle regulators, suggesting that it probably regulates pigmentation patterning by regulating scale cell development. In parallel with findings in the peppered moth (Biston betularia), our results suggest that this mechanism is common within Lepidoptera and that cortex has become a major target for natural selection acting on colour and pattern variation in this group of insects.

| S-EPMC5094491 | biostudies-literature

Dipterocarpoidae genomics reveal their demography and adaptations to Asian rainforests.

Project description:Dipterocarpoideae species form the emergent layer of Asian rainforests. They are the indicator species for Asian rainforest distribution, but they are severely threatened. Here, to understand their adaptation and population decline, we assemble high-quality genomes of seven Dipterocarpoideae species including two autotetraploid species. We estimate the divergence time between Dipterocarpoideae and Malvaceae and within Dipterocarpoideae to be 108.2 (97.8‒118.2) and 88.4 (77.7‒102.9) million years ago, and we identify a whole genome duplication event preceding dipterocarp lineage diversification. We find several genes that showed a signature of selection, likely associated with the adaptation to Asian rainforests. By resequencing of two endangered species, we detect an expansion of effective population size after the last glacial period and a recent sharp decline coinciding with the history of local human activities. Our findings contribute to understanding the diversification and adaptation of dipterocarps and highlight anthropogenic disturbances as a major factor in their endangered status.

| S-EPMC10891123 | biostudies-literature

Pervasive mimicry in flight behavior among aposematic butterflies.

Project description:Flight was a key innovation in the adaptive radiation of insects. However, it is a complex trait influenced by a large number of interacting biotic and abiotic factors, making it difficult to unravel the evolutionary drivers. We investigate flight patterns in neotropical heliconiine butterflies, well known for mimicry of their aposematic wing color patterns. We quantify the flight patterns (wing beat frequency and wing angles) of 351 individuals representing 29 heliconiine and 9 ithomiine species belonging to ten color pattern mimicry groupings. For wing beat frequency and up wing angles, we show that heliconiine species group by color pattern mimicry affiliation. Convergence of down wing angles to mimicry groupings is less pronounced, indicating that distinct components of flight are under different selection pressures and constraints. The flight characteristics of the Tiger mimicry group are particularly divergent due to convergence with distantly related ithomiine species. Predator-driven selection for mimicry also explained variation in flight among subspecies, indicating that this convergence can occur over relatively short evolutionary timescales. Our results suggest that the flight convergence is driven by aposematic signaling rather than shared habitat between comimics. We demonstrate that behavioral mimicry can occur between lineages that have separated over evolutionary timescales ranging from <0.5 to 70 My.

| S-EPMC10945825 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data