Evolution of the metathoracic tympanal ear and its mesothoracic homologue in the Macrolepidoptera (Insecta)

Two independent methods of comparison, serial homology and phylogenetic cha racter mapping, are employed to investigate the evolutionary origin of the noctuoid moth (Noctuoidea) ear sensory organ. First, neurobiotin and Janus green B staining techniques are used to describe a novel mesothoracic chord otonal organ in the hawkmoth, Manduca sex-ta, which is shown to be serially homologous to the noctuoid metathoracic tympanal organ. This chordotonal o rgan comprises a proximal scolopidial region with three bipolar sensory cel ls, and a long flexible strand (composed of attachment cells) that connects peripherally to an unspecialized membrane ventral to the axillary cord of the fore-wing. Homology to the tympanal chordotonal organ in the Noctuoidea is proposed from anatomical comparisons of the meso- and metathoracic nerv e branches and their corresponding peripheral attachment sites. Second, the general structure (noting sensory cell numbers, gross anatomy, and locatio n of peripheral attachment sites) of both meso- and metathoracic organs is surveyed in 23 species representing seven superfamilies of the Lepidoptera. The structure of the wing-hinge chordotonal organ in both thoracic segment s was found to be remarkably conserved in all superfamilies of the Macrolep idoptera examined except the Noctuoidea, where fewer than three cells occur in the metathoracic ear (one cell in representatives of the Notodontidae a nd two cells in these of other families examined), and at the mesothoracic wing-hinge (two cells) in the Notodontidae only. By mapping cell numbers on to current phylogenies of the Macrolepidoptera, we demonstrate that the thr ee-celled wing-hinge chordotonal organ, believed to be a wing proprioceptor , represents the plesiomorphic state from which the tympanal organ in the N octuoidea evolved. This 'trend toward simplicity' in the noctuoid ear contr asts an apparent 'trend toward complexity' in several other insect hearing organs where atympanate homologues have been studied. The advantages to hav ing fewer rather than more cells in the moth ear, which functions primarily to detect the echolocation calls of bats, is discussed.