title: Wireless stimulation of antennal muscles in freely flying hawkmoths leads to flight path changes.
abstract: Insect antennae are sensory organs involved in a variety of behaviors, sensing many different stimulus modalities. As mechanosensors, they are crucial for flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. One of their roles is to mediate compensatory reflexes of the abdomen in response to rotations of the body in the pitch axis. Abdominal motions, in turn, are a component of the steering mechanism for flying insects. Using a radio controlled, programmable, miniature stimulator, we show that ultra-low-current electrical stimulation of antennal muscles in freely-flying hawkmoths leads to repeatable, transient changes in the animals' pitch angle, as well as less predictable changes in flight speed and flight altitude. We postulate that by deflecting the antennae we indirectly stimulate mechanoreceptors at the base, which drive compensatory reflexes leading to changes in pitch attitude.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America. ahinterw@uw.edu
authors.forename: Armin J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hinterwirth
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lockey
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Voldman
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hildebrand
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Daniel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000166:cytology / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005426:Flight, Animal; D018402:Manduca / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D059015:Wireless Technology