AN ASSINGMENT ON
“THE MORPHOLOGY OF ANTENNA OF
INSECT ORDERS; HYMENOPTERA, DICTYOPTERA,
ORTHOPTERA, ODONATA & LEPIDOPTERA.”
Submitted to; Submitted by;
Asst. Prof. Ananta M. Bhattarai Sabnam Neupane
Department of Entomology Roll no. : ENT-03M-2023
AFU AFU
Rampur, Chitwan. Shukranagar, Chitwan
ANTENNA
Antennae are paired sensory organs found on the heads of insects. Antennae can detect touch,
smell, and, in some cases, sound. Antennae are made up of numerous segments, and different
insect groups have different antennae.
Female and male antennal morphology is comparable, with the scape, pedicel, and nine
flagellomeres. Each flagellomere is gradually thicker from base to tip, and all segments are
cylindrical.
1. 0rthoptera
Orthoptera are one of the oldest orders of insects, known from the Late Carboniferous to recent,
encompassing grasshoppers, locusts, katydids (bush-crickets), crickets, weta, and their
relatives(Gu et al.,2019).
The antennae of grasshoppers are usually filiform (threadlike) but they may have other shapes,
such as ensiform (broad at base, narrowing to tip) or clavate (expanded at tip) (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Diagram of three forms of grasshopper antennae: filiform or threadlike, ensiform or
sword-shaped, and clavate or club shaped
The filiform antennae of Acheta domesticus have a short scape and pedicel, with flagellomeres
(sclerotized annulations that make the flagellum) of uniform thickness taking up most of the
antenna. Having no obvious constrictions at the joints (Metcalf et al., 1962).
2. Dictyoptera
Cockroach antennae have been widely studied to better understand the multifunctional sensory
appendage that creates the olfactory, gustatory, tactile, thermal, and humidity perceptions. The
tactile sense is regarded to play a crucial role in perceiving physical items among the many
senses. Because most cockroach species are nocturnal, the antenna's tactile sense would be
critical for determining the position, shape, and texture of nearby objects in the dark.
Mechanoreceptors on the antenna's surface are principally responsible for the creation of tactile
sensation. Furthermore, antenna motor function contributes to active tactile sensation
(Staudacher et al. 2005; Comer and Baba 2011). Proprioceptors at the antennal joints are
activated because of the antennal movement.
Each adult P. americana antenna is as long as its body length (40 mm) and is made up of roughly
140 segments (Fig. 2). The first and second proximal segments are known as the scape and
pedicel, respectively, and the remaining distal segments are known as the flagellum. Flexible
joints connect each segment to its neighboring parts. Only the head-scape and scape-pedicel
joints, however, can move actively in response to muscular contraction. The other joints that
connect the flagellar segments are merely passively deflected. Sensillum are sensory units found
on the surface or behind the cuticle of the antenna. Some sensilla act as mechanoreceptors,
mediating the touch sense.
Figure 2: Lateral view of a cockroach’s antenna
Cockroach antennae have a wide range of mechanoreceptors that vary in form, location, and
function. Antennal mechanoreceptors are characterized morphologically as hair sensillum (or
just hair), campaniform sensillum, and chordotonal sensillum. The chordotonal sensilla reside in
the pedicel, but the hair and campaniform sensilla are widely scattered on the surface of the
antenna. These receptors are functionally classed as exteroceptors and proprioceptors, or external
and internal mechanoreceptors, respectively. Watanabe et al. (2019) discovered that some
mechanosensory neurons, including the cheatic, chordotonal, and hair plate sensilla, are
serotonergic.
Five functionally distinct muscles situated inside the head capsule and the scape govern the
cockroach antennae. The head capsule muscles connect the tentorium (an internal skeleton) to
the proximal ends of the scape. The scape is rotated medially around the head-scape joint by the
adductor muscle, whereas the scape is rotated laterally by the abductor muscle. The scape is
lifted vertically by the levator muscle. The levator and depressor muscles deflect the pedicel
dorsally and ventrally around the scape-pedicel joint, respectively, and span between the
proximal ends of the scape and those of the pedicel. The antennal motor nerves that emerge from
the brain innervate each of these five muscles(Okada,2009).
3. Hymenoptera
Flabellate (or flabelliform) antennae are found in various insect families, including the
Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera.
The honey bees antennae create a sensory powerhouse, serving as a role for the bee's senses of
touch, smell, taste, and even a unique type of hearing. Surprisingly, males have 13 segments in
each antenna, whereas females have 12. There is an elbow-like "joint" along the antenna in both
situations.
4. Odonata
The antenna of odonata are filiform antennas are the most basic type of antenna. This type has
multiple segments that are around the same size. Filiform antennae are found in a wide range of
animals, including dragonflies, grasshoppers, and crickets, as well as Book Lice, Biting Lice,
Scorpion Flies, and beetles.
5. Lepidoptera
Antennae are linked to the heads of butterflies and moths. These are used to assist them balance,
particularly while flying, and to smell the environment around them. Butterflies have two
antennae that are segmented. At the end of each butterfly antenna is a tiny club whereas moth
antennae are often curled, feathery, and slender.
[Link]
%20antennae%20of%20grasshoppers%20are,vary%20in%20shape%20and%20protuberance.
Kellogg, D. W. (2007). Antennal biomechanics of house crickets (Acheta domesticus L.) (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Kansas).
Gu, J. J., Shih, C., & Ren, D. (2019). O rthoptera–Grasshoppers and Katydids. Rhythms of Insect
Evolution: Evidence from the Jurassic and Cretaceous in Northern China, 121-136.
[Link]
