The Antennae of Insects as AirCurrent Sense Organ

Authors: M Gewecke

Publish Date: 1974

Volume: , Issue: , Pages: 100-113

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Abstract

Aircurrent sense organs are organs that can be stimulated by movements of the surrounding air and which because of this are able to control positional behaviour In insects the cuticular sensilla are used for the perception of air currents Frequently they are true hair sensilla which are arranged in patches and therefore together form a complex sense organ Boyd and Ewer 1949 WeisFogh 1949 1950 1956b Camhi 1969 Smola 1970 Other types of mechanoreceptors such as campaniform sensilla or scolopideal sensilla which lie within or under the cuticle cannot be stimulated by air currents directly A sensillum of this type can perceive air currents only if it has auxiliary structures capable of receiving the mechanical stimulus and then of conducting it to the mechanoreceptor itself As with the hair patches no single receptor of this type is alone an aircurrent sense organ but only one component of the more complex organ to which it belongs for example the antenna

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