Abstract

Wax models were made of three basic types of lovebug, Plecia neartica Hardy, antenna sensillum. Polar plots of amplified guided radiation at 3.1 cm are given. Highly directional beamwidths of 20 and 30° and 4× amplification are demonstrated by two of the configurations and a circular pattern 3× amplification by the third steeply curved model. All three radiation patterns correlate very well with the known behavior of the lovebug. This exact model is evidence for an IR-dielectric antenna (scent) system of sensillum insect communication.

© 1985 Optical Society of America

Mechanism of attraction of the lovebug, Plecia nearctica, to southern highways: further evidence for the IR-dielectric waveguide theory of insect olfaction

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