Saltin Brian D, Matsumura Yoko, Reid Andrew, Windmill James F, Gorb Stanislav N, Jackson Joseph C
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 204 George Street, Glasgow G11 XW, UK.
Department of Biomimetics, Hochschule Bremen-City University of Applied Sciences, Neustadtswall 30, D-28199 Bremen, Germany.
Insects. 2020 Aug 11;11(8):520. doi: 10.3390/insects11080520.
Small-scale bioacoustic sensors, such as antennae in insects, are often considered, biomechanically, to be not much more than the sum of their basic geometric features. Therefore, little is known about the fine structure and material properties of these sensors-even less so about the degree to which the well-known sexual dimorphism of the insect antenna structure affects those properties. By using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), we determined material composition patterns and estimated distribution of stiffer and softer materials in the antennae of males and females of the non-biting midge . Using finite element modelling (FEM), we also have evidence that the differences in composition of these antennae can influence their mechanical responses. This study points to the possibility that modulating the elastic and viscoelastic properties along the length of the antennae can affect resonant characteristics beyond those expected of simple mass-on-a-spring systems-in this case, a simple banded structure can change the antennal frequency sensitivity. This constitutes a simple principle that, now demonstrated in another Dipteran group, could be widespread in insects to improve various passive and active sensory performances.
小型生物声学传感器，如昆虫的触角，从生物力学角度来看，通常被认为只不过是其基本几何特征的总和。因此，人们对这些传感器的精细结构和材料特性知之甚少，对于昆虫触角结构中众所周知的两性差异在多大程度上影响这些特性更是了解不足。通过使用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜（CLSM），我们确定了非吸血蠓雄性和雌性触角中材料组成模式，并估计了较硬和较软材料的分布。使用有限元建模（FEM），我们也有证据表明这些触角组成的差异会影响它们的机械响应。这项研究指出，沿着触角长度调节弹性和粘弹性特性可能会影响共振特性，超出简单弹簧质量系统的预期——在这种情况下，简单的带状结构可以改变触角的频率敏感性。这构成了一个简单的原理，现在在另一个双翅目类群中得到了证明，可能在昆虫中广泛存在，以改善各种被动和主动的感官性能。
