Tobacco Hawk Moth (Manduca sexta) Smells with its Wings
If you have ever wondered how the moth that produces tobacco hornworms finds the right plants, even before any blossoms appear, this research has found the answer.
The Hawk Moth wings have stubby, porous, sensory hairs, and can smell various aromas.
phys.org
And of course, tobacco is in the nightshade family.
Bob
If you have ever wondered how the moth that produces tobacco hornworms finds the right plants, even before any blossoms appear, this research has found the answer.
The Hawk Moth wings have stubby, porous, sensory hairs, and can smell various aromas.
"...they concluded that the moth's wings likely sense bitter flavors and the aroma of amines, which smell like rotting fish to us."
"...the wing only picked out two odors, pyrrolidine and piperidine, both of which are stinky amines found in the leaves of nightshade plants, on which tobacco hawkmoths prefer to lay their eggs."
Moth wings reveal an unexpected ability to smell plant chemicals
Insect wings are bristling with senses, feeling the wind blowing and even tasting potential mates, but little was known about whether moth wings are equipped with a sense of smell. Sonja Bisch-Knaden and Bill Hansson from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany, had a hunch that...
And of course, tobacco is in the nightshade family.
Bob
