Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106-6150.
Integr Comp Biol. 2004 Jun;44(3):250-8. doi: 10.1093/icb/44.3.250.
Flash communication by the firefly Photinus pyralis was studied in a stationary, simulated flight apparatus in which an individual of either sex could be "flown" and its flashing behavior and flight orientation recorded in response to photic stimulation. Males made long "flights" showing many of the characteristics of their natural, female-seeking patrol flights. Males oriented their flight vectors towards light emitting diode (LED) flashes that mimicked the responses of females to their patrol flashes. Females flew and responded to male-emulating LED flashes, making a previously unknown early response followed by the typical 2 sec delayed response characteristic of the dialoging perched female, including abdominal aiming of the flash. Pairs consisting of males, in tethered flight, and females, perched, were run in an integrating sphere photometer, permitting the first determinations of flash intensities of both sexes during courtship dialog. The implications of this work on thought about evolution of photic behavior in fireflies are considered.
利用一个静止的、模拟飞行的装置研究了萤火虫 Photinus pyralis 的闪光通讯，在这个装置中，一只雄性或雌性个体都可以被“飞行”，并记录其对光刺激的闪光行为和飞行方向。雄性进行了长距离的“飞行”，展示了许多它们在自然状态下寻找雌性的巡逻飞行的特征。雄性将它们的飞行方向指向模仿雌性对巡逻闪光反应的发光二极管 (LED) 闪光。雌性飞行并对模仿雄性的 LED 闪光做出反应，做出了一个以前未知的早期反应，然后是典型的 2 秒延迟反应，这是对话中栖息的雌性的特征，包括腹部对准闪光。由系绳飞行的雄性和栖息的雌性组成的配对在积分球光度计中运行，这使得第一次可以在求偶对话中确定雌雄双方的闪光强度。这项工作对萤火虫光行为进化的思考产生了影响。
