Insect antenna as a smoke detector

Stefan Schütz (), Bernhard Weissbecker, Hans E. Hummel, Karl-Heinz Apel, Helmut Schmitz and Horst Bleckmann
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Stefan Schütz: Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Institut für Phytopathologie und Angewandte Zoologie
Bernhard Weissbecker: Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Institut für Phytopathologie und Angewandte Zoologie
Hans E. Hummel: Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Institut für Phytopathologie und Angewandte Zoologie
Karl-Heinz Apel: Landesforstanstalt Eberswalde
Helmut Schmitz: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Institut für Zoologie, Poppelsdorfer Schloss
Horst Bleckmann: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Institut für Zoologie, Poppelsdorfer Schloss

Nature, 1999, vol. 398, issue 6725, 298-299

Abstract: Abstract The larvae of jewel beetles of the genus Melanophila (Buprestidae) can develop only in the wood of trees freshly killed by fire1. To arrange this, the beetles need to approach forest fires from as far as 50 kilometres away1, 2. They are the only buprestid beetles known to have paired thoracic pit organs3, which behavioural2, ultrastructural4 and physiological experiments5 have shown to be highly sensitive infrared receptors, useful for detecting forest fires. It has been suggested that Melanophila can sense the smoke from fires6, but behavioural experiments failed to show that crawling beetles approach smoke sources2. We find that the antennae of jewel beetles can detect substances emitted in smoke from burning wood.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/18585

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