Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland, OH, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2024 Jun;291(2024):20240311. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0311. Epub 2024 Jun 12.
Halteres are multifunctional mechanosensory organs unique to the true flies (Diptera). A set of reduced hindwings, the halteres beat at the same frequency as the lift-generating forewings and sense inertial forces via mechanosensory campaniform sensilla. Though haltere ablation makes stable flight impossible, the specific role of wing-synchronous input has not been established. Using small iron filings attached to the halteres of tethered flies and an alternating electromagnetic field, we experimentally decoupled the wings and halteres of flying and observed the resulting changes in wingbeat amplitude and head orientation. We find that asynchronous haltere input results in fast amplitude changes in the wing (hitches), but does not appreciably move the head. In multi-modal experiments, we find that wing and gaze optomotor responses are disrupted differently by asynchronous input. These effects of wing-asynchronous haltere input suggest that specific sensory information is necessary for maintaining wing amplitude stability and adaptive gaze control.
平衡棒是真蝇（双翅目）所特有的多功能机械感觉器官。一组退化的后翅，平衡棒以与产生升力的前翅相同的频率拍打，并通过机械感觉的钟形感觉器感受惯性力。虽然平衡棒的切除使稳定飞行成为不可能，但翅膀同步输入的具体作用尚未确定。我们使用附着在系留蝇的平衡棒上的小铁粉和交变电磁场，实验性地分离了飞行中的翅膀和平衡棒，并观察到由此产生的翅膀拍打幅度和头部取向的变化。我们发现，平衡棒输入不同步会导致翅膀（颠簸）的快速幅度变化，但不会明显移动头部。在多模态实验中，我们发现翅膀和注视视动反应受到不同步输入的不同干扰。这种翅膀非同步平衡棒输入的影响表明，维持翅膀幅度稳定性和自适应注视控制需要特定的感觉信息。
