Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
Arthropod Struct Dev. 2010 Jul;39(4):230-41. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2010.02.002.
Individuals of the insect order Mantophasmatodea use species-specific substrate vibration signals for mate recognition and location. In insects, substrate vibration is detected by mechanoreceptors in the legs, the scolopidial organs. In this study we give a first detailed overview of the structure, sensory sensitivity, and function of the leg scolopidial organs in two species of Mantophasmatodea and discuss their significance for vibrational communication. The structure and number of the organs are documented using light microscopy, SEM, and x-ray microtomography. Five scolopidial organs were found in each leg of male and female Mantophasmatodea: a femoral chordotonal organ, subgenual organ, tibial distal organ, tibio-tarsal scolopidial organ, and tarso-pretarsal scolopidial organ. The femoral chordotonal organ, consisting of two separate scoloparia, corresponds anatomically to the organ of a stonefly (Nemoura variegata) while the subgenual organ complex resembles the very sensitive organs of the cockroach Periplatena americana (Blattodea). Extracellular recordings from the leg nerve revealed that the leg scolopidial organs of Mantophasmatodea are very sensitive vibration receptors, especially for low-frequency vibrations. The dominant frequencies of the vibratory communication signals of Mantophasmatodea, acquired from an individual drumming on eight different substrates, fall in the frequency range where the scolopidial organs are most sensitive.
昆虫目弹尾目昆虫个体使用特定物种的基质振动信号进行配偶识别和定位。在昆虫中，基质振动由腿部的机械感受器，即刺跗节器官检测。在这项研究中，我们首次详细介绍了两种弹尾目昆虫的腿部刺跗节器官的结构、感觉敏感性和功能，并讨论了它们在振动通讯中的意义。使用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜和 X 射线微断层扫描对器官的结构和数量进行了记录。雌雄弹尾目昆虫的每条腿上都有 5 个刺跗节器官：股部琴状感觉器官、跗节下器官、胫骨远端器官、胫跗刺跗节器官和跗节前跗节刺跗节器官。股部琴状感觉器官由两个独立的刺组成，在解剖学上与石蝇（Nemoura variegata）的器官相对应，而跗节下器官复合体类似于蟑螂 Periplatena americana（Blattodea）的非常敏感的器官。从腿部神经进行的细胞外记录显示，弹尾目昆虫的腿部刺跗节器官是非常敏感的振动感受器，特别是对低频振动。从个体在八种不同基质上击鼓获得的弹尾目昆虫的振动通讯信号的主要频率落在刺跗节器官最敏感的频率范围内。
