D.N. LAPSHIN
CONTRADICTIONS IN DATA FROM ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL EXPERIMENTS USING RESULTS FROM TESTING THE AUDITORY SYSTEM OF NOCTUID MOTHS (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE) AS AN EXAMPLE
The yellow-line quaker Agrochola macilenta Hbn. and the herald
moth Scoliopteryx libatrix L., which are noctuid moths, were tested
with sequences of pulses resembling bat echolocation signals in
conditions of fixed flight. Changes in the directional aerodynamic
force were studied in flying moths in relation to the amplitude
and filling frequency of acoustic stimuli in the frequency range 10-140 kHz.
Averaged frequency-threshold plots for exemplars of both species
were similar in shape to audiograms from moth tympanic organ
auditory receptors, though the thresholds recorded in behavioral
tests were an average of 35 dB lower than the thresholds of
tympanic organ auditory receptors. The possible mechanisms regulating
acoustic sensitivity in intact moths and influences on the results
obtained by recording motor activity in the experimental moths are discussed.