Johnston's organ
The Johnston organ (also Johnston's organ ) is among the insects occurring sensory organ in the second antenna element ( pedicel ). As a scolopidial organ , it is equipped with a large number of scolopidia , pen-guiding sensillae , which are arranged in groups around the antenna shaft and are excited by the vibration of the antenna whip.
The Johnston organ can act as a vibration sensor for sensing changes in pressure, sound, and movement. In the tobacco hawk , its function for position control in flight has been proven: The vibration of the antenna influenced by body movements and air vibrations is perceived with the organ. It allows fine control of the flight attitude to facilitate turns and other changes of direction. A similar function is assumed for all flying insects. In addition to position control in flight, Johnston's organ has a whole range of other functions in various insect orders, all of which are based on the perception of oscillations and vibrations. For example, it is used by tumbler beetles (Gyrinidae) and back swimmers (Notonectidae) to recognize prey on the surface of the water, which is vibrated by their movements. In Drosophila , the males of mosquitoes (Culicidae), midges (Chironomidae) and other two-winged birds , it is used for sound perception, as an organ of hearing .
The Johnston organ is named after Christopher Johnston , who described it in 1855.
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- ^ Sanjay P. Sane, Alexandre Dieudonné, Mark A. Willis, Thomas L. Daniel: Antennal Mechanosensors Mediate Flight Control in Moths. In: Science. 315, 2007, p. 863. doi: 10.1126 / science.1133598
- ↑ Steven A. Kolmes: Ecological and Sensory Aspects of Prey Capture by the Whirligig Beetle Dineutes discolor (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae). In: Journal of the New York Entomological Society. Vol. 91, No. 4, 1983, pp. 405-412.