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. 2021 Jan 18;12(1):81.
doi: 10.3390/insects12010081.

Morphology and Distribution of Antennal Sensilla in Three Species of Thripidae (Thysanoptera) Infesting Alfalfa Medicago sativa

Yan-Qi Liu  1 , Jin Li  1 , Li-Ping Ban  1
Affiliations

Morphology and Distribution of Antennal Sensilla in Three Species of Thripidae (Thysanoptera) Infesting Alfalfa Medicago sativa

Yan-Qi Liu et al. Insects. .

Abstract

Thrips are important pests to alfalfa Medicago sativa. Similar as many other plant-feeding insects, thrips rely on the antennae to receive chemical signals in the environment to locate their hosts. Previous studies indicated that sensilla of different shapes on the surface of insect antenna play an important role in signal recognition. However, morphological analysis of the antennal sensilla in Thysanoptera has been limited to only a few species. To expand the understanding of how antennal sensilla are related to semiochemical detection in thrips, here we compared the morphology and distribution of antennal sensilla in three thrip species, Odontothrips loti, Megalurothrips distalis, and Sericothrips kaszabi, by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The antennae of these three species are all composed of eight segments and share similar types of sensilla which distribute similarly in each segment, despite that their numbers show sexual dimorphism. Specifically, nine major types of sensilla in total were found, including three types of sensilla basiconica (SBI, SBII, and SBIII), two types of sensilla chaetica (SChI and SChII), and one type for each of sensilla coeloconica (SCo), sensilla trichodea (ST), sensilla campaniformia (SCa), and sensilla cavity (SCav). The potential functions of sensilla were discussed according to the previous research results and will lay a morphological foundation for the study of the olfactory mechanism of three species of thrips.

Keywords: SEM; antennae; sensilla; thrips.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of the general morphology and sensilla distribution on the thrip antennae. (a) ventral view of an O. loti antenna under SEM; (b) dorsal view of an O. loti antenna under SEM; (c) the schematic distribution of various types of sensilla on the dorsal (left) and ventral (right) side of three thrip species investigated. S: Scape. P: Pedicel. FI-VI: Flagellum I-VI. SBI-III: sensilla basiconica I-III. SCo: sensilla coeloconica. SCav: sensilla cavity. SCa: sensilla campaniformia. SChI, II: sensilla chaetica I, II. ST: sensilla trichodea. BB: Böhm bristle. Mt: microtrichia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average length (n = 10) of each antenna segment in O. loti. S: Scape. P: Pedicel. FI-VI: Flagellum I-VI.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sensilla basiconica I (SBI) is located at the flagellum II apex with holes on its surface. SBI of O. loti (a) and S. kaszabi (b) is shown.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Sensilla basiconica II (SBII) on the flagellum II of O. loti (a) and S. kaszabi (b). A high-resolution of SBII is shown in (c). Holes (indicated by the black arrows) are distributed evenly between longitudinal ridges but with a smaller density than that of sensilla basiconica I (SBI).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Sensilla basiconica III (SBIII) on the flagellum IV of O. loti (a), S. kaszabi (b), and SBIII (c) shown in high resolution.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Sensilla coeloconica (SCo) on the flagellum III in O. loti (a) and S. kaszabi (b).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Sensilla cavity (SCav) is located on flagellum III (a) and a SCav was shown in higher resolution (b) in S. kaszabi.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Sensilla chaetica I (SChI) on the scape and pedicel. (a) O. loti. (b) S. kaszabi. (c) M. distalis.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Sensilla chaetica II (SChII) on the flagellum VI. (a) O. loti. (b) S. kaszabi. (c) M. distalis. There is a longitudinal opening at the SChII indicated by the black arrow.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Sensilla campaniformia (SCa) on the pedicel (a) and shown at higher magnification (b) in S. kaszabi.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Sensilla trichodea (ST) at the flagellum VI. (a) O. loti. (b) S. kaszabi.
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