Publication: University of Bristol
Date: Wednesday October 21st, 2009
Source: http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2009/6609.html
A clever structure in the ear of a tropical butterfly that potentially makes it able to distinguish between high and low pitch sounds has been discovered by scientists from the University of Bristol.
The team believes that the remarkable structure may be associated with the detection of predators, in particular birds. The Blue Morpho butterflies (Morpho peleides), native to Central and South America, are more famous for their amazing wing colouration and now turn out to have ears on their wings.
The research was carried out by scientists working at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, University of Strathclyde and Carleton University, Ontario, Canada.
Paper
Auditory mechanics and sensitivity in the tropical butterfly Morpho peleides (Pampilionoidea, Nymphalidae) by Kathleen M. Lucas, James F. C. Windmill, Daniel Robert and Jayne E. Yack The Journal of Experimental Biology