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J Comp Physiol A (2014) 200:891898 DOI 10.1007/s00359-014-0933-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
Hearing in the crepuscular owl buttery (Caligo eurilochus, Nymphalidae)
Kathleen M. Lucas Jennifer K. Mongrain
James F. C. Windmill Daniel Robert Jayne E. Yack
Received: 15 May 2014 / Revised: 20 June 2014 / Accepted: 12 August 2014 / Published online: 31 August 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
range with higher auditory thresholds. Hypotheses explaining the function of hearing in this crepuscular buttery are discussed.
Keywords Buttery Nymphalidae Tympanal hearing
Scanning laser vibrometry Extracellular nerve recording
Introduction
Butteries are popular study organisms, in part due to their bright colours, day-ying habits, and their association with owers and warm sunny days. In accordance with these life-history traits, butteries have well-developed visual and chemosensory systems, and there has been extensive research on these senses (Hallberg and Poppy 2003; Warrant et al. 2003). Some butteries have well-developed ears; however, surprisingly little is known about this sensory modality. This is in contrast to the related moths that make up the remainder of the order Lepidoptera, which have been the focus of research in acoustic communication for decades (Spangler 1988; Scoble 1996; Minet and Surlykke 2003; Yack 2004). Moth ears have evolved primarily as high-frequency (>20 kHz) detectors, in response to predation pressure from insectivorous bats (Minet and Surlykke 2003). There are relatively few studies on the hearing of butteries, providing only partial knowledge on the taxonomic distribution and function of hearing in this large and popular group of insects.
Butteries are commonly recognised as species belonging to three superfamilies: the Papilionoidea (true butteries), the Hesperioidea (skippers) and the Hedyloidea (moth-butteries) (Ackery et al. 1999). Hearing organs have been described to date in the Hedyloidea and the Papilionoidea (Minet and Surlykke 2003). The Hedyloidea
Abstract Tympanal organs are widespread in Nymphalidae butteries, with a great deal of variability in the morphology of these ears. How this variation reects differences in hearing physiology is not currently understood. This study provides the rst examination of hearing organs in the crepuscular owl buttery, Caligo eurilochus. We examined the tuning and sensitivity of the C. eurilochus hearing organ, called Vogels organ, using laser Doppler vibrometry and extracellular neurophysiology. We show that the C. eurilochus ear responds to sound and is most sensitive to frequencies...