数学形态学在昆虫分类学上的应用研究.Ⅰ.在目级阶元上的应用研究

根据昆虫图像,对半翅目（Hemiptera）、鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）、鞘翅目（Coleoptera）的34种昆虫提取形状参数、叶状性、球状性等7项数学形态特征进行了统计分析,从而论证了各项数学形态特征在目级昆虫分类阶元上作为分类特征的可行性和可靠性,并从数学形态学角度对所涉及到的同阶元昆虫类群的亲缘关系做了描述。结果表明,在作为目级阶元分类特征时,各项特征的可靠性依次为：(似圆度、偏心率、亮斑数)＞(叶状性、球状性、圆形性)＞形状参数。由这些特征的差异显著性可知,从数学形态特征角度讲,3个目的亲缘关系远近大小依次为：半翅目与鞘翅目＞半翅目与鳞翅目＞鳞翅目与鞘翅目。     

数学形态学在昆虫分类学上的应用研究.Ⅰ.在目级阶元上的应用研究

根据昆虫图像,对半翅目（Hemiptera）、鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）、鞘翅目（Coleoptera）的34种昆虫提取形状参数、叶状性、球状性等7项数学形态特征进行了统计分析,从而论证了各项数学形态特征在目级昆虫分类阶元上作为分类特征的可行性和可靠性,并从数学形态学角度对所涉及到的同阶元昆虫类群的亲缘关系做了描述。结果表明,在作为目级阶元分类特征时,各项特征的可靠性依次为：(似圆度、偏心率、亮斑数)＞(叶状性、球状性、圆形性)＞形状参数。由这些特征的差异显著性可知,从数学形态特征角度讲,3个目的亲缘关系远近大小依次为：半翅目与鞘翅目＞半翅目与鳞翅目＞鳞翅目与鞘翅目。     

数学形态学在昆虫分类学上的应用研究.Ⅲ.在科阶元上的应用研究

在科分类阶元上对半翅目、鳞翅目和鞘翅目8个科的23种昆虫图像中提取的昆虫面积、周长等11项数学形态特征进行了统计分析。结果表明,在科的阶元上11项特征可靠性大小依次为(似圆度、偏心率)>(面积、周长、横轴长、球状性)>(纵轴长、圆形性)>(形状参数、叶状性)>亮斑数。从数学形态学角度出发,夜蛾科等3个科的亲缘关系远近为夜蛾科与粉蝶科>大蚕蛾科与粉蝶科>夜蛾科与大蚕蛾科;鳃金龟等3科的亲缘关系远近为鳃金龟科与天牛科、丽金龟科与天牛科>鳃金龟科与丽金龟科。     

粗糙集理论在昆虫分类学上的应用

研究了昆虫的数学形态特征在目级昆虫分类阶元上作为分类特征的可行性、可靠性和重要性,以及3个目的亲缘关系远近.根据昆虫图像,对半翅目、鳞翅目、鞘翅目的28种昆虫提取形状参数、叶状性、球状性等7项数学形态特征进行了粗糙集理论与方法的论证和运算,并与赵汗青等人统计分析的结果加以比较.在作为目级阶元分类时,各项特征的重要性依次为:(似圆度、偏心率)＞(亮斑数、球状性、圆形性)＞(叶状性、形状参数).从数学形态特征角度讲,3个目的亲缘关系远近大小依次为:半翅目与鞘翅目＞鳞翅目与鞘翅目＞半翅目与鳞翅目.粗糙集理论在昆虫依据数学形态特征进行分类方面与统计分析方法相比有更为理想的作用.     

双重标准差法在昆虫科阶元分类学上的应用

在科分类阶元上对半翅目、鳞翅目和鞘翅目8个科的23种昆虫图像中提取的昆虫面积、周长等11项数学形态特征进行了双重标准差法分析,以评估该方法在昆虫科阶元分类上的应用有效性。结果表明,在科的阶元上11项特征可靠性大小依次为: （似圆度、偏心率、 圆形性>（横轴长、形状参数、叶状性>（面积、周长、球状性> (纵轴长、亮斑数)。科的亲缘关系远近结果显示： 蝽科和缘蝽科关系较近>丽金龟科、天牛科与鳃金龟科关系较近>夜蛾科、大蚕蛾科和粉蝶科关系较近。所得结果与统计假设检验分析所得结果非常相似。     

数学形态学在昆虫分类学上的应用研究.Ⅱ.在总科阶元上的应用研究

从总科角度对鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）和鞘翅目（Coleoptera）5个总科23种昆虫图像中提取的昆虫面积、周长等11项数学形态特征进行了统计分析。结果表明,在总科阶元上,11项特征的可靠性大小为圆形性＞（面积、周长、横轴长、球形性、似圆度、偏心率）＞（纵轴长、叶状性）＞（形状参数、亮斑数）。从数学形态特征角度讲,夜蛾总科等3个总科的亲缘关系远近大小依次为夜蛾总科与凤蝶总科>蚕蛾总科与凤蝶总科>夜蛾总科与蚕蛾总科。     

数学形态学在昆虫总科阶元分类学上的应用研究

对鳞翅目Lepidoptera和鞘翅目Coleoptera 5个总科23种昆虫图像中提取昆虫面积、周长等11项数学形态特征进行了粗糙集神经网络分析,并与赵汗青统计分析加以比较,结果表明在总科阶元上,11项特征的可靠性顺序为面积、亮斑数＞周长、横轴长、形状参数、圆形性、似圆度、偏心率＞纵轴长、叶状性、球状性形性、似圆度、偏心率)＞(纵轴长、叶状性)＞(形状参数、亮斑数).与赵汗青等人用统计学分析的结果不完全一致,但大多数属性特征重要性还是一致的.神经网络模式识别结果与传统分类结果完全一致.由此得出:粗糙集理论在昆虫依据数学形态特征进行分类方面与统计分析方法相比更为理想.     

粗糙集模糊聚类分析法在昆虫分类研究中的应用

本文根据昆虫图像,对半翅目、鳞翅目、鞘翅目的28种昆虫提取的形状参数、叶状性、球状性等7项数学形态特征进行了粗糙集模糊聚类分析。在粗糙集处理的基础上,分别进行7指标和3指标（相对约简）两种不同的模糊聚类分析法相比较。结果显示,在作为目级阶元分类指标时,各项特征的重要性依次为：(似圆度、偏心率)＞（亮斑数、球状性、圆形性）＞（叶状性、形状参数）;粗糙集分类正确率优于模糊聚类分析法;粗糙集处理后的3指标分类正确率优于未处理的7指标分类正确率。结论认为,粗糙集理论在昆虫依据数学形态特征进行分类方面与统计分析方法相比更有优势,粗糙集滤过指标后再进行模糊聚类法分析在昆虫分类研究上具有重要意义。     

基于蛾翅翅脉特征的夜蛾昆虫数字化分类研究 （鳞翅目：夜蛾科）

本文以夜蛾昆虫为研究对象,利用蛾右前翅翅脉特征对7种夜蛾昆虫进行数字化分类研究。首先,利用软件tpsDig2提取蛾翅翅室周围翅脉交点作为标记点;再利用普世叠加方法消除非形状因素等信息,计算出每一个翅脉交点与初始交点的距离作为特征参数;最后,利用方差分析和逐步判别分析验证各项特征参数对7种夜蛾进行分类的可行性、有效性和重要性。研究结果表明,筛选出5项特征参数可以作为分类变量,其作用大小依次为:(Dis_(16)、Dis_(17))(Dis_(13)、Dis_(15))Dis_(12),原始判别和交叉判别结果的正确率分别为96.2%和96.2%。这说明蛾翅翅脉的特征参数可用于蛾类昆虫的数字化分类鉴定。     

用于昆虫分类鉴定的几何形态计量学方法研究:相对扭曲分析

几何形态计量学着重研究生物形态的拓扑结构信息,不受昆虫标本大小和形状等因素的影响.本文提出利用几何形态计量学中的相对扭曲分析来实现昆虫分类鉴定的研究,做为方法论的探索,本文以鳞翅目夜蛾科6种蛾类昆虫的翅脉图像样本为试验材料.首先利用软件TpsDig2获取6种蛾180个右前翅翅脉样本的标记点,再运用软件TpsSuper对其进行普氏叠加分析,消除非形状因素等多余的信息,最后利用软件TpsRelw进行相对扭曲分析,通过分析得到的相对扭曲图像可以使昆虫的分类实现二维可视化,因此可以更直观地做出其种类的鉴定.研究结果表明本文为蛾类昆虫的可视化鉴定提供了一种可行的方法,对于昆虫分类鉴定的形态学测量数据可视化具有重要意义.     

The diets of two high-flying bats from Africa

The diets of two fast-flying, aerial-hawking bats from north-east Africa (Ethiopia) were investigated by means of faecal analysis. Otomops martiensseni (Molossidae; c. 35 g body mass), which is remarkably specialized morphologically with very long, narrow wings and large ears, and which uses low frequency echolocation (10kHz), feeds almost exclusively (97% by volume) on moths, mostly of large species. The smaller (20 g) Taphozous perforatus (Emballonuridae) also has long, narrow wings but short ears and is less morphologically extreme than Otomops. It feeds on moths (56%), but also on many other insect groups such as Isoptera (14%). Coleoptera (10o%), Orthoptera (8%), as well as Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera. Otomops martiensseni , in particular, appears to be a highly specialized moth predator.     

Fine nanostructural variation in the wing pattern of a moth <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chiasmia eleonora</Emphasis> Cramer (1780)

Butterflies and moths possess diverse patterns on their wings. Butterflies employ miscellaneous colour in the wings whereas moths use a combination of dull colours like white, grey, brown and black for the patterning of their wings. The exception is some of the toxic diurnal moths which possess bright wing colouration. Moths possess an obscure pattern in the dorsal part of the wings which may be a line, zigzag or swirl. Such patterns help in camouflage during resting period. Thus, the dorsal wing pattern of the moth is used for both intra- as well as inter-specific signal communication. Chiasmia eleonora is a nocturnal moth of greyish black colouration. The dorsal hindwing possesses yellow and black colour patches. A white-coloured oblique line crosses both left and right fore- and hindwings to form a V-shaped pattern across the dorsal wing. This V-shaped pattern possesses a UV signal. Closer to the body, the colour appears darker, which fades towards the margin. The fine nanostructural variation is observed throughout the wings. This study elucidates the wing pattern of the geometrid moth C. eleonora using high-resolution microscopy techniques that has not been described in previous studies.     

Moth wing scales slightly increase the absorbance of bat echolocation calls

Coevolutionary arms races between predators and prey can lead to a diverse range of foraging and defense strategies, such as countermeasures between nocturnal insects and echolocating bats. Here, we show how the fine structure of wing scales may help moths by slightly increasing sound absorbance at frequencies typically used in bat echolocation. Using four widespread species of moths and butterflies, we found that moth scales are composed of honeycomb-like hollows similar to sound-absorbing material, but these were absent from butterfly scales. Micro-reverberation chamber experiments revealed that moth wings were more absorbent at the frequencies emitted by many echolocating bats (40-60 kHz) than butterfly wings. Furthermore, moth wings lost absorbance at these frequencies when scales were removed, which suggests that some moths have evolved stealth tactics to reduce their conspicuousness to echolocating bats. Although the benefits to moths are relatively small in terms of reducing their target strengths, scales may nonetheless confer survival advantages by reducing the detection distances of moths by bats by 5-6%.     

Malagasy birds as hosts for eye-frequenting moths

While tear-feeding in moths on mammals is widespread, there have been no reports of this behaviour in Madagascar and none on birds. We report that a moth, Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica belonging to the Calpini, a generally fruit-feeding or blood-feeding lineage of noctuids, attacks sleeping birds in Madagascar. This moth is able to intrude its sharply tipped proboscis into a closed bird's eye. The proboscis is characterized by a specific armoury of hooks, barbs and spines similar to that in piercing calpines but dissimilar to that in other tear-feeding moths. This is the first report of exploitation of tears by Lepidoptera from the closed eyes of sleeping birds.     

Sugaring for moths: why are noctuids attracted more than geometrids?

ABSTRACT.

• 1 The attraction of nocturnal moths (Noctuidae and Geometridae) to fermenting sugar baits and to volatile organic compounds formed in these baits was studied by field trapping in South Finland.
• 2 In general, noctuids were attracted synergistically to these compounds (i.e. a mixture of compounds attracted more moths than the summed attraction of the components of the mixture predicted). Geometrids were not attracted synergistically. A similar pattern, with a few exceptions, was obtained by specific evaluation of forty-one noctuid and fifteen geometrid species.
• 3 The degree of synergistic response was correlated with the general morphology of the moths. The robust species (proportionally large thorax and small wings; most of the Noctuidae) were attracted synergistically, while the slender species (proportionally small thorax and large wings; most of the Geometridae) were only weakly or not at all attracted synergistically.
• 4 The ecological background of the morphology-related synergism is discussed. It is suggested that the energy demands of the robust species are substantially higher than those of the slender species, thus leading to different foraging strategies.

     

Acoustic irradiation produced by flying moths (Lepidoptera,Noctuidae)

Characteristics of acoustic waves accompanying the flight of noctuid moths (Noctuidae) were measured. The low-frequency part of the spectrum is formed of a series of up to 17 harmonics of the wingbeat frequency (30–50 Hz) with a general tendency toward the decrease in the spectral density and the increase in the sound frequency. The root-mean-square level of the sound pressure from flapping wings was found to be 70–78 dB SPL. Besides low-frequency components, the flight of moths was accompanied by short ultrasonic pulses, which appeared with every wingbeat. Most of the spectral energy was concentrated within a range of 7–150 kHz with the main peaks at 60–110 kHz. The short-term pulses were divided into two or more subpulses with different spectra. The high-frequency pulses were produced at two phases of the wingbeat cycle: during the pronation of the wings at the highest point and at the beginning of their upward movement from the lowest point. In most of the specimens tested, the peak amplitude of sounds varied from 55 to 65 dB SPL at a distance of 6 cm from the insect body. However, in nine noctuid species, no high-frequency acoustic components were recorded. In these experiments, the acoustic flow from the flying moth within a frequency range of 2 to 20 kHz did not exceed the self-noise level of the microphone amplifier (RMS 18 dB SPL). Probable mechanisms of the high frequency acoustic emission during flight, the effect of these sounds on the auditory sensitivity of moths, and the possibility of their self-revealing to insectivorous bats are discussed. In addition, spectral characteristics of the moth echolocation clicks were more precisely determined within the higher frequency range (>100 kHz).     

飞行过程中棉铃虫对温度的主动选择

为了探讨温度对迁飞性昆虫空中群体聚集成层等行为的作用机制,在室内利用自行设计的连续温度梯度发生装置对棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera在飞行过程中的温度选择行为进行了研究.结果表明：在存在明显温差的连续温度梯度中,所有棉铃虫飞行个体均对温度具有显著的选择行为.棉铃虫试虫群体表现出对空间最优飞行温度共同的主动选择,选择的温度范围是20~22℃之间;在这一温度范围内棉铃虫的振翅频率最高,持续振翅时间最长.对不同温度梯度条件下各温度区间内试虫的飞行时间进行定量比较发现,在16~22℃温度梯度场中的棉铃虫群体对最适温度的选择比在19~30℃的温度梯度场中的群体更显著,表明在温度较低的迁飞季节中温度对迁飞棉铃虫空中虫群聚集成层的影响要比在高温季节更明显.持续飞行时间对棉铃虫振翅频率的影响明显,表明昆虫迁飞高度与昆虫自身能量的消耗存在联系.     

Environmentally cued size variation in the light-brown apple moth,Epiphyas postvittana (Walk.) (Tortricidae), and its adaptive value in dispersal

Summary Adult males and females of the light brown apple moth,Epiphyas postivittana (Walk.) (Tortricidae) showed seasonal, cyclic variations in size at two study areas. These variations are caused by the quality of the food available and temperature. Large individuals occur during the cool wet months of the year (autumn-winter generation moths that fly during September–November) and small individuals occur during the warm dry months of the year (from January to May when late-spring and summer generation moths fly). The ratios of body length to wing-length showed that the wing-loadings of the smaller individuals are significantly lower than those of large individuals, even though the latter have longer wings. Those with low wing-loading would be expected to be more adapted for dispersal. It is suggested that the type of flight dimorphism ofE. postvittana which is associated with the size of the insect has survival value in enabling the moth to disperse when habitats become adverse for breeding.     

Shape indices to identify regional differences in otolith morphology of comber, Serranus cabrilla (L., 1758)

Sagittal otoliths from the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions of Serranus cabrilla L. were compared using shape indices (form‐factor, roundness, circularity, rectangularity, ellipticity and eccentricity). Regional differences were best described by form‐factor, circularity and eccentricity variables. The canonical discriminant functions were built with form‐factor or rectangularity indices. The results indicated slight regional variations. The G‐test was the criterion more useful to identify the otolith origin in the discriminant analysis.