Morphometric and ultrastructural studies of shape and pattern regulation were performed on Dileptus anser. In this ciliate 2 body regions can be distinguished: proboscis and trunk. When a large portion of the trunk is excised, shape regulation occurs and the proper proboscis/trunk ratio is restored through elongation of the remnant of the trunk and shortening of the proboscis. When there is not...

In honeybees, Apis mellifera L., the proboscis extension reflex (PER) can be conditioned by associating an odor stimulus (CS) with a sucrose reward (US). As the neural structures involved in the detection and integration of CS and US are bilaterally symmetrical in the bee brain, we ask what respective role each brain side plays in the conditioning process. More specifically, the US normally use...

Many kinds of adult Lepidoptera insects possess a long proboscis which is used to suck liquids and has the coiling and uncoiling movements. Although experiments revealed qualitatively that the coiling movement is governed by the hydraulic mechanism and the uncoiling movement is due to the musculature and the elasticity, it needs a quantitative investigation to reveal how insects achieve these b...

Adults of Sphaerirostris picae (Rudolphi, 1819) Golvan, 1956 are described from European magpie, Pica pica Linnaeus (Corvidae), collected in 2008 from wooded areas near the northern Iranian town of Tonekabon by the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Other specimens also were collected from Corvus cornix Linnaeus, Corvus corone Linnaeus, and Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus (Corvidae) in the same loc...

The precise coordination of body parts is essential for survival and behavior of higher organisms. While progress has been made towards the identification of central mechanisms coordinating limb movement, only limited knowledge exists regarding the generation and execution of sequential motor action patterns at the level of individual motoneurons. Here we use Drosophila proboscis extension as a...

The retractable proboscis of acanthocephalans is equipped with hooks for attachment to the intestine definitive host. Throughout their evolutionary history, have developed a variety ways maximize anchoring host gut and avoid dislodgement. Hooks vary in size shape along longitudinal axis proboscis, texture, structure, hardness as well contribution absorption nutrients. also chemical composition,...

The proboscis of Hubrechtella juliae was examined using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy to reveal more features of basal pilidiophoran nemerteans for morphological and phylogenetic analysis. The proboscis glandular epithelium consists of sensory cells and four types of gland cells (granular, bacillary, mucoid, and pseudocnid...

Flower visiting Eristalis hoverflies feed on nectar and pollen and are known to rely on innate colour preferences. In addition to a preference for visiting yellow flowers, the flies possess an innate proboscis reflex elicited by chemical as well as yellow colour stimuli. In this study we show that the flies' proboscis reflex is only triggered by yellow colour stimuli and not altered by conditio...

The butterfly Pieirs rapae drinks liquid using a long proboscis. A high pressure gradient is induced in the proboscis when cibarial pump muscles contract. However, liquid feeding through the long proboscis poses a disadvantage of high flow resistance. Hence, butterflies may possess special features to compensate for this disadvantage and succeed in foraging. The main objective of this study is ...

Generalist pollinators like the buff-tailed bumble bee, Bombus terrestris, encounter both nutrients and toxins in the floral nectar they collect from flowering plants. Only a few studies have described the gustatory responses of bees toward toxins in food, and these experiments have mainly used the proboscis extension response on restrained honey bees. Here, a new behavioral assay is presented ...