Optimal flight behavior of soaring migrants: a case study of migrating steppe buzzards, Buteo buteo vulpinus

This article presents tests of the theoretical predictions onoptimal soaring and gliding flight of large, diurnal migrantsusing Pennycuick's program 2 for "bird flight performance."Predictions were compared with 141 observed flight paths ofmigrating steppe buzzards, Buteo buteo vulpinus. Calculationsof cross-country speed relative to the air included bird's airspeedsand sinking rates in interthermal gliding and climbing ratesin thermal circling. Steppe buzzards adjusted interthermal glidingairspeed . according to their actual climbing rate in thermalcircling. By optimizing their gliding airspeed, the birds maximizedtheir crosscountry performance relative to the air. Despitethis general agreement with the model, there was much scatterin the data, for the model neglects horizontal winds and updraftsduring the gliding phase. Lower sinking rates due to updraftsduring the gliding phases allowed many birds to achieve highercross-country speeds than predicted. In addition, birds reactedto different wind directions and speeds: in side and opposingwinds, the steppe buzzards compensated for wind displacementduring soaring and increased their gliding airspeed with decreasingtailwind component Nevenheless, cross-country speed relativeto the ground, which is the important measure for a migratorybird, was still higher under following winds. This study showsthat Pennycuick's program 2 provides reliable predictions onoptimal soaring and gliding behavior using realistic assumptionsand constants in the model, but a great deal of variation aroundthe mean is generated by factors not included in the model     

A behavioural test of the sensitivity of a nocturnal mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, to dim white, red and infra-red light

Abstract. A behavioural test was used to determine the light sensitivity of the nocturnal mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. to low intensities of 'white' light (tungsten filament), 'red' light (white light filtered by a darkroom safelight filter) and 'infra-red' light) of two types (white light filtered by a λ>700 nm filter, and light-emitting diodes with λ>900 nm). Mosquitoes were placed in a 20 cm diameter flight-tunnel and their 'optomotor' response to a pattern of stripes moving across their visual field (at 14.5 cm s^-1) was recorded with infra-red-sensitive video. In free-flight, with ample light, the mosquitoes controlled their flight speed and direction in relation to the stripe movement, so that the stripes always appeared to move across their visual field from front to back. They did this by flying either with the moving stripes fast enough to overtake them (19.5 ± 0.7 cm s^-1), or against them more slowly (10.3 ± 0.7 cm s^-1)- The net ground speed of the mosquitoes was thus c. 4–5 cm s^-1. This response was significant down to 10^-5 W m^-2 in 'white' light, and 10^-3 W m^-2 in 'red' light. At light intensities below threshold and in infra-red light, however, they appeared to fly at random with respect to the stripe movement. The assumption commonly made, that mosquitoes do not 'see' in red light, may thus have to be revised.     

Simultaneous monitoring of flight and oviposition of individual velvetbean caterpillar moths (by Wales, Barfield & Leppla, 1985): a critique

ABSTRACT. Flight durations of tethered female Anticarsia gemmatalis moths recorded in the laboratory were interpreted by Wales et al. as indicating a capacity for significant inter-reproductive displacements in the field. Indications that their data may not support this conclusion are discussed and evidence is presented that, in tethered Spodoptera exempta , prolonged flights starting early in the night represent migratory behaviour while those of similar durations starting after midnight do not.     

Amino acid metabolism during flight in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata

The highest capacity for flight was demonstrated in males reared in long day conditions. During flight there is a significant decrease in proline content and to a lesser extent in glutamate. At the same time alanine accumulates, but its accumulation does not show stoichiometry with the decline in proline and glutamate during the first minutes of flight. This failure in stoichiometry suggests that glutamate dehydrogenase plays an important role in the early phases of flight.     

甘蓝夜蛾Mamestra brassicae Linnaeus飞行能力研究

【目的】测定日龄、性别、交配等因素对农业迁飞性害虫甘蓝夜蛾Mamestra brassicae Linnaeus飞行能力的影响,为其迁飞行为研究和异地测报提供理论依据。【方法】在气温为(24±1)℃、相对湿度为75%±5%的实验室环境下,利用飞行磨系统对甘蓝夜蛾实验室种群1~5日龄未交配个体、已交配的3日龄个体以及野外迁飞种群分别进行连续24 h吊飞测试,记录其累计飞行时间、累计飞行距离、平均飞行速率等参数。【结果】甘蓝夜蛾实验室种群的飞行能力随日龄增长而变化,初羽化时即具有较强的飞行能力,2~3日龄达到峰值,4~5日龄的飞行能力显著下降;雌性甘蓝夜蛾的飞行能力强于雄性甘蓝夜蛾;交配的甘蓝夜蛾平均飞行速率显著小于处女甘蓝夜蛾,但二者的平均飞行时间和飞行距离均无显著差异。此外,渤海湾迁飞种群中晚季节南迁种群的飞行能力显著强于早季节北迁种群和过渡种群。【结论】日龄和交配状态是影响甘蓝夜蛾飞行能力的关键因素。     

白背飞虱的再迁飞能力

通过室内模拟试验研究了白背飞虱经过一次远迁降落、取食不同水稻品种后的再迁飞能力。根据吊飞试验的持续飞行时间可将白背飞虱种群划分为居留型(<30 min)、迁飞型(≥30 min)、远迁型(>420 min)和再迁飞型(第二次吊飞持续飞行时间 ≥30 min)。在所测的558头白背飞虱中,再迁飞型的比率为5.7%;而在112头迁飞型个体中,再迁飞的比率为28.6%。取食不同品种的水稻对白背飞虱的飞行能力和再迁飞能力有显著影响。取食感虫水稻的白背飞虱飞行能力和再迁飞能力较强,再迁飞的比率也较高 (>5%)。吊飞前后取食常规稻与耐虫品种组合的飞虱的再迁飞时间则较短,再迁飞比率也较低;但吊飞前后均以耐虫品种饲喂的个体,反而也表现出较高的再迁飞比率和中等水平的再迁飞时间。而且,第一次飞行360 min以上的个体具有较强的再迁飞潜力。交配只对6日龄雌虫和2日龄雄虫的飞行能力有显著影响。     

枣实蝇成虫飞行能力的测定

【目的】为了明确枣实蝇Carpomya vesuviana Costa成虫飞行扩散能力及相关因子对其飞行能力的影响。【方法】本研究以SUN-FL型智能昆虫飞行信息系统（飞行磨）吊飞方法, 测定了不同日龄、性别的枣实蝇成虫的飞行能力, 并探究了温度对枣实蝇飞行能力的影响。【结果】羽化后12 d左右的枣实蝇飞行能力最强, 雌虫平均飞行距离和最远飞行距离分别为1.037和3.192 km, 雄虫分别为0.943和3.085 km; 枣实蝇飞行能力随着日龄的增加呈现先增强后减弱的趋势; 相同日龄的雌成虫平均飞行距离、平均飞行时间略高于雄虫, 雌、雄虫的平均飞行距离、平均最快飞行速度、平均飞行时间之间没有显著性差异; 环境温度28～34℃为枣实蝇最佳飞行温度区间, 且31℃条件下飞行能力最强。【结论】由此可见, 枣实蝇成虫具有较强的迁飞扩散能力。     

南京地区棉蚜的飞行活动节律及其飞行能力

昆虫的飞行活动规律及飞行能力是研究其能否迁飞的基础。通过采用春季到秋季20 m高空黄盆诱蚜、高空所诱蚜和春季木槿树上有翅蚜的卵巢解剖,以及春夏秋三季田间有翅蚜的吊飞试验等方法,研究了南京地区棉蚜Aphis gossypii的飞行活动节律和飞行能力。结果表明,有翅棉蚜的日羽化高峰出现在19:00～20:00。2001年南京地区棉蚜的春、秋两季迁飞高峰分别在5月8日和10月25日。5月份高空诱集的棉蚜中,95.7%个体的卵巢小管数在7条以下,而木槿上羽化后1天的有翅蚜中有35.2%个体的卵巢小管数在7条以上;高空诱蚜和木槿上蚜的平均卵巢小管数存在极显著差异,分别为3.94±1.65和5.88±1.92。8月中下旬棉田棉蚜存在低空飞行行为,并且出现飞行高峰时有翅蚜的卵巢小管数平均在6条以下,超过6条则停止飞行。羽化后1～2天有翅棉蚜吊飞个体的飞行比率和平均飞行距离表现为春、秋季显著大于夏季,三季的最长飞行距离分别为3.89 km、6.15 km和1.44 km。     

Flight activity of the damson–hop aphid, Phorodon humuli.

Flight activity of Phorodon humuli was monitored using suction traps, laboratory studies and mark and recapture experiments. Emigrants were trapped as they flew from a Myrobalan (Prunus cerasifera) hedge and among dwarf hops (Humulus lupulus). Daily flight curves were bimodal with 69% and 38% of emigrants caught in the morning peak near Myrobalan and among hops, respectively. The median period of flight activity was from 2 h after sunrise until 30 min before sunset. The lower temperature for flight was 13.5°C in the field and 14.9°C for take off in the laboratory. Variations in wind speed had little effect on flight activity explaining <2.5% of the total variance among insect counts. The percentage of emigrants on hop declined exponentially with time. The relationship, y= 10.9(±2.0) + 64.3(±2.3) × 0.92(±0.01)^t where t = daylight hours (standard error in parentheses), explained 98.3% of the variance. Hence, 62% of new arrivals flew within 1 day of arrival and 79% within 2 days. Similar numbers arrived as departed at 08:30, 10:30 and 12:30 h, but at 14:30 h twice as many arrived than departed and at 16:30 h, the accumulation was threefold. Daily flight curves of return migrants and males leaving hop were bimodal with 70% and 80%, respectively, trapped in the earlier peak. In the field, the median lower temperature for flight was 13.2°C for return migrants and a nonsignificantly different 12.8°C for males. The mean temperature for take off by return migrants was 15.7°C in the laboratory.     

Flight behaviour of Bemisia tabaci in a vertical flight chamber: effect of time of day, sex, age and host quality

Abstract. The free-flight behaviour of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), the sweet potato whitefly, was investigated in a vertical flight chamber. A mercury-vapour lamp presented from above induced a phototactic flight response. Although flight propensity was comparable from 06.00 to 19.00 hours, flight duration was maximum between 06.00 and 10.00 hours. Males flew longer than females and their mean flight duration remained constant throughout the day. Females flew longer from 06.00 to 13.00 hours than from 13.00 to 19.00 hours. Both sexes were capable of sustaining flight for more than 2h, although less than 5% of those tested did so.
Flight activity also was influenced by age and by host quality. The propensity to take off, proportion exhibiting phototactic orientation and flight duration varied with the age of the whitefly. Host quality influenced the timing of flight behaviour. Whiteflies reared on senescing plants exhibited greater take-off rates and initiated longer phototactic flights up to 4 days following adult eclosion when compared to individuals reared on vegetative plants. Thereafter, individuals reared on vegetative plants exhibited greater response levels. Whiteflies reared on vegetative plants weighed more and survived longer than did individuals reared on senescing plants.
Whiteflies that responded to the overhead light initially exhibited a strong photokinetic and phototactic response. Over the course of the flight, these responses declined and flight instability increased, as indicated by an overall decrease in the mean rate of climb, accompanied by an increase in the variability of this parameter and an increase in horizontal displacement. Although males and females displayed similar flight characteristics, females exhibited a greater rate of climb than did males, and for both sexes, individuals that flew longer than 25 min had a greater rate of climb than did individuals that flew for less than 25 min.     

Flight behaviour of the bird cherry aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi

Abstract Seasonal winged forms of the bird cherry aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi L., were flown in an automated flight chamber. During their maiden flights, autumn migrants (gynoparae) had a greater initial rate of climb than summer (exules) and spring migrants (emigrants). Autumn migrants, presented with a laterally-positioned green-illuminated target for 2.5 s during each minute of flight, flew for a longer period before responding to the target (110 min) than summer migrants (36 min), while spring migrants responded after an intermediate time (72 min). This period is equivalent to the migratory phase of flight. The summer migrants were maximally responsive to targets illuminated by green monochromatic light (X, 555 nm). Targets illuminated with ultraviolet (γλ 360 nm) were attractive during the migratory and green-responsive phases of flight, but infrared (γλ700 nm) wavelengths were not attractive. The results are discussed with respect to aphid behaviour in the field.     

Geographic comparison of seasonal migration events of the large white butterfly,Pieris brassicae

1. The multivoltine butterfly Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus) inhabits most climatic zones in Europe and Asia. Its regional populations are adapted to the respective climatic conditions and hibernate in those regions. Yet how these adaptations are stabilised in spite of the species' regular migration events is unclear. 2. In this study, significant differences were found in the preferred flight direction of P. brassicae depending on the season and the butterfly's geographic origin. The individual flight behaviours indicated that flight direction is a heritable character. 3. The bivoltine population from northern Germany undertook a typical return flight in the second generation of the year. This reverse flight was induced by the developmental mode of the caterpillars. A diapause in the pupal stage triggered a northward migration, and a non‐diapause a southward migration. 4. In contrast to bivoltine populations, the second generation of multivoltine populations maintained the direction of the hibernating generation. 5. A unique situation was determined for the population from the northern coast of Spain. The North Sea seemed to be a migration barrier that forced an adaptation, with the first generation flying southeastward, and the second generation northeastward. 6. The flight pattern of at least some of the investigated populations suggests that, after their yearly migration, the descendants of a local population are able to reach the home range of their ancestors again.     

Sex,life history and morphology drive individual variation in flight performance of an insect parasitoid

1. The movement of organisms can be driven by multiple factors and has implications for fitness and the spatial distribution of populations. Insects spend a large proportion of their adult lives foraging by flying for resources; however, their capability and motivation to move can vary across individuals. 2. The aims of this study were to examine interindividual and sex differences in flight performance and flight characteristics, using a flight mill bioassay, in Megarhyssa nortoni (Hymenoptera; Ichneumonidae), a parasitoid of the invasive woodwasp Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), one of the most important pests of pine afforestation worldwide. We also assessed the influence of morphological traits in combination with sex on flight and explored the cost of flight on longevity and mass loss. 3. The results show a difference between sexes in flight characteristics and performance. Females show greater total distance flown than males, and have a better capacity to undergo sustained flight. Sexual size dimorphism was also found and it was noted that size positively affects distances travelled. Females have a longer life span than males, yet no differences were noted in longevity within sex between individuals that did not fly and those that flew. Age did not influence flight performance of females or impacted on post‐flight longevity. Females lost less body mass than males even after flying longer distances. 4. These results suggest that sex‐specific behaviours probably govern flight abilities together with (and not only because of) morphological traits. The paper discusses sex‐specific life‐history strategies in parasitoids and their implications for biocontrol programmes.     

Relationships between body composition, body size and alternative reproductive tactics in a lekking sandpiper, the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

1. The Ruff is a lekking sandpiper in which males have two genetically determined alternative mating strategies: 'satellite' or 'independent'. Satellite males are non-territorial, following groups of females on and off leks. Independent males attempt to establish territories on leks and can be either 'resident' territory holders, or non-territorial 'marginals'. The time budgets of the three behavioural tactics (resident, marginal and satellite) differ notably in time allocated to foraging, aggression and display activity. These differences have led to the suggestion that the benefits of size and energy stores may vary with mating tactic.
2. In this paper in vivo estimates of body composition (fat, fat-free mass) for breeding male Ruffs using total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) are presented.
3. Satellite males have significantly shorter tarsi and wings than independent males.
4. After correcting for size, independent males are significantly heavier and fatter than satellites, and marginals in particular are heavier and fatter than both residents and satellites.
5. Estimates of energy expenditure during flight suggest that satellites may maintain reduced energy reserves to minimize flight costs, while the larger fat stores of independent males are consistent with the benefits of endurance as a territory holder.     

温度、湿度、光照对桔小实蝇飞行能力的影响

本文明确温度、相对湿度和光照强度等3个环境因子变化对桔小实蝇Bactrocera dorsalis(Hendel)雌、雄成虫飞行能力的影响。在不同温度、相对湿度和光照强度下,通过室内静风吊飞测试桔小实蝇雌、雄成虫的飞行距离、时间及速度。结果表明,适宜桔小实蝇飞行的温度范围是20℃-32℃,雌虫比雄虫更耐高温;最适宜飞行的空气相对湿度在60%-75%;桔小实蝇雌、雄成虫在有光照的条件下飞行,在500-2000 lux光照强度下飞行能力最强。分析表明,环境温度、空气相对湿度以及光照强度对桔小实蝇的飞行影响明显。低温或太高温对桔小实蝇飞行不利;较湿润的空气环境对桔小实蝇飞行有利,干燥或湿度过大均不利于桔小实蝇的飞行活动;光刺激是导致桔小实蝇飞行活动的基本条件,光照强度过弱或过强均不利于桔小实蝇飞行。     

Migratory and targeted flight in seasonal forms of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae

ABSTRACT. Adult winged forms of Aphis fabae Scop., the spring migrants (fundatrigeniae; alate virginoparae), the summer migrants (alate virginoparae) and the autumn migrants (gynoparae), were flown in an automated vertical wind tunnel, with a small green target presented every 60 s. On average, targeted flight developed in the spring and summer migrants after 19 and 15 min, respectively. However, in autumn migrants targeted flight occurred after 184 min of flight. No evidence of target approach was found up to 30 min prior to this time, although some movement towards the target was observed in the 30 min before the first response of autumn migrants, suggesting that a gradual change from migratory to targeted flight occurred. No correlation was found between aphid weight and the time to first response for spring or summer migrants, but a positive correlation was found for autumn migrants. Flight patterns of autumn migrants, in the absence of a target, are described and compared with flight patterns previously reported for summer migrants.     

Flight threshold, wing muscle histolysis, and alary polymorphism: correlated traits for dispersal tendency in the Gerridae

ABSTRACT. 1. This paper tests the hypothesis that selection for dispersal ability within a species influences not only the occurrence and extent of wing reduction but also the tendency or ability of the macropterous individuals to fly.
2. Flight thresholds of four species of waterstriders (Hemiptera; Gerridae) were assessed using a tethered flight technique. The species tested varied from monomorphic macropterous ( Limnoporus dissortis Drake and Harris), through seasonally polymorphic ( Gerris comatus Drake and Hottes and G. buenoi Kirkaldy), to primarily apterous ( G.remigis Say).
3. Condition of the indirect, mesothoracic flight muscles, and presence or absence of mature or developing eggs (for females) were determined by dissection of all individuals immediately following flight testing. Only individuals with normal muscles were included in the analysis of flight thresholds.
4. Comparisons among species revealed that average flight threshold and extent of flight muscle histolysis were negatively associated with the proportion of macropterous individuals. Wing reduction was also associated with significant seasonal variation in flight threshold, particularly among females.
5. These results support our initial hypothesis, and further indicate that, within the Gerridae, dispersal tendency depends not only on the proportion of macropters but also on the dispersal capability of the macropterous individuals.