Seeing the world through the eyes of a butterfly : visual ecology of the territorial males of Pararge aegeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
(2021) In Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 207(6). p.701-713- Abstract
Combining studies of animal visual systems with exact imaging of their visual environment can get us a step closer to understand how animals see their “Umwelt”. Here, we have combined both methods to better understand how males of the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria, see the surroundings of their perches. These males are well known to sit and wait for a chance to mate with a passing females, in sunspot territories in European forests. We provide a detailed description of the males' body and head posture, viewing direction, visual field and spatial resolution, as well as the visual environment. Pararge aegeria has sexually dimorphic eyes, the smallest interommatidial angles of males are around 1°, those of females 1.5°. Perching... (More)
Combining studies of animal visual systems with exact imaging of their visual environment can get us a step closer to understand how animals see their “Umwelt”. Here, we have combined both methods to better understand how males of the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria, see the surroundings of their perches. These males are well known to sit and wait for a chance to mate with a passing females, in sunspot territories in European forests. We provide a detailed description of the males' body and head posture, viewing direction, visual field and spatial resolution, as well as the visual environment. Pararge aegeria has sexually dimorphic eyes, the smallest interommatidial angles of males are around 1°, those of females 1.5°. Perching males face the antisolar direction with their retinal region of the highest resolution pointing at an angle of about 45° above the horizon; thus, looking at a rather even and dark background in front of which they likely have the best chance to detect a sunlit female passing through the sunspot.
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- author
- Bergman, Martin LU ; Smolka, Jochen LU ; Nilsson, Dan Eric LU and Kelber, Almut LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Lepidoptera, Mate detection, Spatial resolution, Visual ecology, Visual environment
- in
- Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
- volume
- 207
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 13 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85118213341
- pmid:34709430
- ISSN
- 0340-7594
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00359-021-01520-3
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
- id
- 824118f1-34b6-4ddf-86d8-e10b6364738d
- date added to LUP
- 2021-11-13 11:42:25
- date last changed
- 2024-06-15 20:26:14
@article{824118f1-34b6-4ddf-86d8-e10b6364738d,
abstract = {{<p>Combining studies of animal visual systems with exact imaging of their visual environment can get us a step closer to understand how animals see their “Umwelt”. Here, we have combined both methods to better understand how males of the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria, see the surroundings of their perches. These males are well known to sit and wait for a chance to mate with a passing females, in sunspot territories in European forests. We provide a detailed description of the males' body and head posture, viewing direction, visual field and spatial resolution, as well as the visual environment. Pararge aegeria has sexually dimorphic eyes, the smallest interommatidial angles of males are around 1°, those of females 1.5°. Perching males face the antisolar direction with their retinal region of the highest resolution pointing at an angle of about 45° above the horizon; thus, looking at a rather even and dark background in front of which they likely have the best chance to detect a sunlit female passing through the sunspot.</p>}},
author = {{Bergman, Martin and Smolka, Jochen and Nilsson, Dan Eric and Kelber, Almut}},
issn = {{0340-7594}},
keywords = {{Lepidoptera; Mate detection; Spatial resolution; Visual ecology; Visual environment}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{701--713}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology}},
title = {{Seeing the world through the eyes of a butterfly : visual ecology of the territorial males of Pararge aegeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01520-3}},
doi = {{10.1007/s00359-021-01520-3}},
volume = {{207}},
year = {{2021}},
}