EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY

Eur. J. Entomol. 104 (3): 459-470, 2007 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2007.066

Sexual dimorphism and light/dark adaptation in the compound eyes of male and female Acentria ephemerella (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae)

Ting Fan (Stanley) LAU¹, Elisabeth Maria GROSS², Victor Benno MEYER-ROCHOW^1,3

¹ Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, P.O.Box 750561, D-28725 Bremen, Germany

² Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, P.O. Box M659, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany

³ Department of Biology (Zoological Museum), University of Oulu, P.O.Box 3000, SF-90014 Oulu, Finland; e-mail: vmr@cc.oulu.fi and b.meyer-rochow@iu-bremen.de

In the highly sexual-dimorphic nocturnal moth, Acentria ephemerella Denis & Schiffermüller 1775, the aquatic and wingless female possesses a refracting superposition eye, whose gross structural organization agrees with that of the fully-winged male. The possession of an extensive corneal nipple array, a wide clear-zone in combination with a voluminous rhabdom and a reflecting tracheal sheath are proof that the eyes of both sexes are adapted to function in a dimly lit environment. However, the ommatidium of the male eye has statistically significantly longer dioptric structures (i.e., crystalline cones) and light-perceiving elements (i.e., rhabdoms), as well as a much wider clear-zone than the female. Photomechanical changes upon light/dark adaptation in both male and female eyes result in screening pigment translocations that reduce or dilate ommatidial apertures, but because of the larger number of smaller facets of the male eye in combination with the structural differences of dioptric apparatus and retina (see above) the male eye would enjoy superior absolute visual sensitivity under dim conditions and a greater resolving power and ability to detect movement during the day. The arrangement of the microvilli in the rhabdom of both genders suggests that their eyes are polarization-sensitive, an ability they would share with many aquatic insects that have to recognize water surfaces. Although sexual recognition in A. ephemerella is thought to chiefly rely on pheromones, vision must still be important for both sexes, even if the females are wingless and never leave their watery habitat. Females swim actively under water and like their male counterparts, which fly above the surface of the water, they would have to see and avoid obstacles as well as potential predators. This, together with a small incidence of winged females, we believe, could be the reason why the eyes of female A. ephemerella are less regressed than those of other sexually dimorphic moths, like for instance Orgyia antiqua. Another, but difficult to test, possibility is that male and female A. ephemerella have diverged in their behaviour and habitat preferences less long ago than other sexually dimorphic moths.

Keywords: Pyraloidea, Crambidae, compound eye, photoreception, vision, retina, sexual dimorphism, polarization sensitivity, dark/light adaptation, photoreceptor evolution

Received: November 3, 2006; Revised: January 17, 2007; Accepted: January 17, 2007; Published: July 25, 2007  Show citation