ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology2018
What does a butterfly hear? Physiological characterization of auditory afferents in Morpho peleides (Nymphalidae).
Article in Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cryptic Vocal Communication in the Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso).Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Article
- Tympanal ears mediate male-male competition, courtship and mating success inRoyal Society open science · 2024Article
- Dissections of Larval, Pupal and Adult Butterfly Brains for Immunostaining and Molecular Analysis.Methods and protocols · 2021Article
- Phylogenomics reveals the evolutionary timing and pattern of butterflies and moths.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- In that vein: inflated wing veins contribute to butterfly hearing.Biology letters · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Many Nymphalidae butterflies possess ears, but little is known about their hearing. The tympanal membrane of butterflies typically comprises distinct inner and outer regions innervated by auditory nerve branches NII and NIII and their respective sensory organs. Using the Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) as a model, we characterized threshold and suprathreshold responses of NII and NIII. Both are broadly tuned to 1-20 kHz with best frequencies at 1-3 kHz, but NIII is significantly more sensitive than NII. The compound action potentials (CAPs) of both branches increase their first peak amplitudes and areas in response to higher sound levels. NII and NIII differed in their suprathreshold CAP responses to sound frequencies, with stronger responses to 1-3 and 4-6 kHz, for NIII and NII respectively; results that are consistent with tympanal membrane mechanics. These results indicate that butterflies are capable of amplitude and frequency discrimination. Both auditory branches responded to playbacks of the flight and calls of predatory birds. We propose that the ears of butterflies, like those of many vertebrate prey such as some rabbits and lizards, function primarily in predator risk assessment.
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