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Area of Science:

  • * Entomology
  • * Insect Physiology
  • * Pollination Biology

Background:

  • * Nectar consumption and allocation impact fitness and foraging in pollinators.
  • * Sex-specific differences in nectar allocation strategies are not well understood in Lepidoptera.
  • * Manduca sexta (Sphingidae) are important pollinators, making their physiology relevant.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To investigate crop-emptying rate and nectar sugar allocation in Manduca sexta.
  • * To determine how sex and flight activity influence these physiological patterns.
  • * To understand sex-specific nectar allocation strategies in moths.

Main Methods:

  • * Moths (Manduca sexta) were fed a single nectar meal.
  • * Dissections at fixed intervals measured crop volume and sugar allocation to flight muscle and fat body.
  • * Comparisons were made between sedentary and flown moths of both sexes.

Main Results:

  • * Both sexes preferentially allocated nectar sugars to the fat body over flight muscle.
  • * Sugars were allocated to the fat body during crop-emptying and retained long-term.
  • * Males allocated sugars to flight muscles sooner and retained them longer than females.
  • * Flight increased crop-emptying in females but not males.
  • * Flight did not significantly alter allocation to flight muscle or fat body in either sex.

Conclusions:

  • * Inherent differences exist in male and female nectar sugar allocation strategies.
  • * Sex-specific differences in crop-emptying are context-dependent on flight activity.
  • * These physiological variations may be linked to distinct fitness maximization strategies in male and female moths.