Capacity for heat absorption by the wings of the butterfly Tirumala limniace (Cramer)

PeerJ

article

Huaijian Liao¹  Ting Du¹  Yuqi Zhang³  Lei Shi¹  Xiyu Huai¹  Chengli Zhou¹  Jiang Deng¹ 

[1] Research Institute of Resources Insects;Institute of Leisure Agriculture, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences;College of Life Science, Southwest Forestry University

关键词: Heat absorption;    Heat storage;    Heat absorption area;    Heat transfer;    Wing;    Tirumala limniace;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6648

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Butterflies can directly absorb heat from the sun via their wings to facilitate autonomous flight. However, how is the heat absorbed by the butterfly from sunlight stored and transmitted in the wing? The answer to this scientific question remains unclear. The butterfly Tirumala limniace (Cramer) is a typical heat absorption insect, and its wing surface color is only composed of light and dark colors. Thus, in this study, we measured a number of wing traits relevant for heat absorption including the thoracic temperature at different light intensities and wing opening angles, the thoracic temperature of butterflies with only one right fore wing or one right hind wing; In addition, the spectral reflectance of the wing surfaces, the thoracic temperature of butterflies with the scales removed or present in light or dark areas, and the real-time changes in heat absorption by the wing surfaces with temperature were also measured. We found that high intensity light (600–60,000 lx) allowed the butterflies to absorb more heat and 60−90° was the optimal angle for heat absorption. The heat absorption capacity was stronger in the fore wings than the hind wings. Dark areas on the wing surfaces were heat absorption areas. The dark areas in the lower region of the fore wing surface and the inside region of the hind wing surface were heat storage areas. Heat was transferred from the heat storage areas to the wing base through the veins near the heat storage areas of the fore and hind wings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY