Tympanal organ on the tibia of the katydid Zabalius aridusTympanal organ of two species of moths, ventral view of abdomen (Tineidae and Pyralidae)
A tympanal organ (or tympanic organ) is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane (tympanum) stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons.[1] Sounds vibrate the membrane, and the vibrations are sensed by a chordotonal organ. Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, etc.) do not have a tympanal organ,[2] but they do have a Johnston's organ.
Tympanal organs occur in just about any part of the insect: the thorax, the base of the wing, the abdomen, the legs, etc., depending on the group of insects. The structures are thought to have evolved independently many times.[3] As a result, their position and structures are often used to help determine the taxonomy of the species. For example, all members of the Geometridae share distinctive paired abdominal tympanal organs that open towards the front side of the first abdominal segment.[4] Within the organ, particular structures vary in shape and are used to indicate shared ancestry of subfamilies. In other families of Lepidoptera having abdominal tympanal organs, the opening may be in a different orientation and the structures differ in shape.
Tympanal organs have evolved in Lepidoptera to allow them to detect the echolocation calls of predatory bats. The range of frequencies that the moth is most sensitive to is usually associated with the frequencies used in echolocation by the sympatric bat community.[5] In the presence of predatory bats, it has been shown that the Lepidoptera species Mythimna unipuncta (true armyworm) stops mating behaviors, such as female calling and male wing flapping.[6] As well, hearing is important for mating behaviors in this species because females increase their flapping frequency around males and males produce a trembling noise in response.[7]
^Yack, Jayne E. (2004-04-15). "The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insects". Microscopy Research and Technique. 63 (6): 315–337. doi:10.1002/jemt.20051. ISSN 1097-0029. PMID 15252876.
^"A Closer Look: Sound Generation and Hearing - Bee Culture". 22 February 2016.
^Strauß, Johannes; Lakes-Harlan, Reinhard (2014). "Evolutionary and Phylogenetic Origins of Tympanal Hearing Organs in Insects". Insect Hearing and Acoustic Communication. Animal Signals and Communication. Vol. 1. pp. 5–26. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40462-7_2. ISBN 978-3-642-40461-0. Retrieved 2017-11-09. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Cook, Mark A.; Scoble, Malcolm J. (1992-07-01). "Tympanal organs of geometrid moths: a review of their morphology, function, and systematic importance". Systematic Entomology. 17 (3): 219–232. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1992.tb00334.x. ISSN 1365-3113.
^Hofstede, Hannah M. ter; Goerlitz, Holger R.; Ratcliffe, John M.; Holderied, Marc W.; Surlykke, Annemarie (2013-11-01). "The simple ears of noctuoid moths are tuned to the calls of their sympatric bat community". Journal of Experimental Biology. 216 (21): 3954–3962. doi:10.1242/jeb.093294. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 23913945.
^Acharya, L. “Predation Risk and Mating Behavior: the Responses of Moths to Bat-like Ultrasound.” Behavioral Ecology, vol. 9, no. 6, 1 Jan. 1998, pp. 552–558., doi:10.1093/beheco/9.6.552.
^Fitzpatrick, Sheila M., and Jeremy N. Mcneil. “Male Scent In Lepidopteran Communication: The Role Of Male Pheromone In Mating Behaviour Of Pseudaletia Unipuncta (Haw.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).” Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, vol. 120, no. S146, 1988, pp. 131–151., doi:10.4039/entm120146131-1.
chordotonal organ. Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, etc.) do not have a tympanalorgan, but they do have a Johnston's organ. Tympanalorgans occur in just...
frog's head Tympanum, in biology, the eardrum Tympanum, or tympanalorgan, a hearing organ in insects Tympanum (hand drum), a percussion instrument in ancient...
insect at each developmental stage. The grasshopper hears through the tympanalorgan which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the...
air. Tympanalorgans are specialized hearing organs that have evolved in at least seven different orders of insects. They consist of a tympanal membrane...
warning them of the presence of natural enemies. Some insects possess a tympanalorgan. These are "eardrums", that cover air filled chambers on the legs. Similar...
Henle (ansa nephroni), a portion of a nephron in the kidney Ansa of the tympanalorgan Ansae, compact nebulosities such as can be found in protoplanetary nebulae...
which separates the tympanum and the conjunctiva in the tympanalorgan. It functions to keep parasites (Acari) out of the tympanal cavity. Another characteristic...
as stridulation and ultrasonic bat calls are picked up by a separate tympanalorgan, not the cerci. Some hexapods such as mayflies, silverfish and diplurans...
well-developed subgenual organs associated with a tympanalorgan on the tibia that likely serves a separate function; subgenual organ often lies in the neighborhood...
many invertebrates detect sound using other kinds of sense organs. In insects, tympanalorgans are used to hear distant sounds. They are located either...
many invertebrates detect sound using other kinds of sense organs. In insects, tympanalorgans are used to hear distant sounds. They are located either...
female corpus bursae (Holloway, 1997), the hammer-head ansa in the tympanalorgan, and the absence of a tympanic lacinia in most species (Cook & Scoble...
compound eyes, with additional small ocelli. Many insects can hear, using tympanalorgans, which may be on the legs or other parts of the body. Their sense of...
of the family Noctuidae. The moth is bilaterally symmetrical, with a tympanalorgan, the ability to echolocate, and a holometabolous development. It is...
Hearing came about in many different unrelated species with the: Tympanalorgan, Johnston's organ and mammals/bird ears. Also the simpler hearing found in reptiles...
vile smell from paired prothoracic glands when handled. Adults have tympanalorgans at the forewings' base, enabling them to hear well. Some Chrysopa show...
black in color. They do not produce sound, and lack both wings and tympanalorgans ("ears") on the front tibia. Species of the subfamily Bothriophylacinae...
Pyralidae or snout moths. The principal difference is a structure in the tympanalorgans called the praecinctorium, which joins two tympanic membranes in the...
very feathery, even in males. They lack tympanalorgans, but members of the group Choerocampini have hearing organs on their heads. They have a frenulum...
example at least one areola in the forewing, a hammer-shaped ansa of the tympanalorgan and the lack of a gnathos – with the Sterrhinae which are either somewhat...
have tympanal ears sensitive to ultrasound. Tympanalorgans consist of a chordotonal organ wrapped in tracheal epithelial tissue. The tympanum is a thin...
are sensitive to vibration touch and sound. Hearing structures or tympanalorgans are located on different body parts such as, wings, abdomen, legs and...
night. Diachrysia balluca possesses a tympanalorgan for sound reception. Moths possess a simple tympanalorgan that responds to alternating pressures...
Pyraustinae are characterised by atrophied spinula and venulae in the tympanalorgans; a narrow fornix tympani; a longitudinal groove with androconial scales...
realization that insects also detect airborne sounds was the discovery of tympanalorgan's function. Relatively crude electro-mechanical devices available at...
temperate regions. The Epipleminae are notable for the sexually dimorphic tympanalorgan which is unlike any other lepidopteran's in details of its morphology...
Dysphania species) reach an even larger size. They have distinctive paired tympanalorgans at the base of the abdomen (these are absent in flightless females)...
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