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Socket Array Irregularities and Wing Membrane Distortions at the Eyespot Foci of Butterfly Wings Suggest Mechanical Signals for Color Pattern Determination

Authors :
Yugo Nakazato
Joji M. Otaki
Source :
Insects, Vol 15, Iss 7, p 535 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Eyespot foci on butterfly wings function as organizers of eyespot color patterns during development. Despite their importance, focal structures have not been examined in detail. Here, we microscopically examined scales, sockets, and the wing membrane in the butterfly eyespot foci of both expanded and unexpanded wings using the Blue Pansy butterfly Junonia orithya. Images from a high-resolution light microscope revealed that, although not always, eyespot foci had scales with disordered planar polarity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images after scale removal revealed that the sockets were irregularly positioned and that the wing membrane was physically distorted as if the focal site were mechanically squeezed from the surroundings. Focal areas without eyespots also had socket array irregularities, but less frequently and less severely. Physical damage in the background area induced ectopic patterns with socket array irregularities and wing membrane distortions, similar to natural eyespot foci. These results suggest that either the process of determining an eyespot focus or the function of an eyespot organizer may be associated with wing-wide mechanics that physically disrupt socket cells, scale cells, and the wing membrane, supporting the physical distortion hypothesis of the induction model for color pattern determination in butterfly wings.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20754450
Volume :
15
Issue :
7
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Insects
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.583ac47d796d4e3d811c5f108fff0d97
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15070535