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Entomology

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Clemson University

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Lepidoptera

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Repair Of The Proboscis Of Brush-Footed Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Suellen Pometto Aug 2014

Repair Of The Proboscis Of Brush-Footed Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Suellen Pometto

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A key feature of the order Lepidoptera is the coilable proboscis, present in over 99% of lepidopteran species. The proboscis is used to obtain liquid nutrition, usually floral nectar. The proboscis is assembled from two elongate galeae immediately after emergence of the adult from the pupa. What happens if the galeae become separated? I studied the process of repair of the proboscis, behaviorally and functionally, at the organismal level. My research questions were as follows: 1) is the proboscis capable of repair, 2) is saliva necessary to proboscis repair, and 3) is the repaired proboscis able to acquire fluids? Test …


Fluid Uptake By The Lepidopteran Proboscis In Relation To Structure, Karena Kwauk Aug 2012

Fluid Uptake By The Lepidopteran Proboscis In Relation To Structure, Karena Kwauk

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Three species of butterflies--eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus L.), monarch (Danaus plexippus L.), and painted lady (Vanessa cardui L.)--were used to investigate the effect that exposing multiple regions of the proboscis to fluid has on feeding rate. Although the lepidopteran proboscis historically has been considered a sealed tube with a specialized region near the tip for fluid uptake, droplets of 1% sucrose solution were shown to enter multiple locations along the proboscis. Feeding experiments were conducted comparing fluid uptake rates of butterflies with their proboscises either fully or partially submerged in 1% or 15% sucrose solutions. Only one significant relationship …