Odonata perception is more than vision

Abstract

Abstract Odonata are mainly visually oriented insects and studies regarding dragonfly and damselfly sensory systems focus their attention mainly on vision, while consistently over time disregarding other sensory abilities. This chapter provides an overview of literature on Odonata perception, particularly ultrastructural, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies about mechanoreception, chemoreception, and thermo-hygroreception in nymphs and adults. It considers sensory adaptations in Odonata nymphs in response to different ecological challenges (lotic/lentic freshwater, burrowing species). Among aquatic insects, Odonata provide great opportunities to understand how insect nervous systems can adapt to different environments when passing from nymphal life in freshwater to adult aerial life. The chapter offers a comparison between the antennal sensilla, and the related sensory pathways in the brain, of larva and adults, and discusses the reduction of olfaction in adult Odonata in relation to the evolution of insect olfaction.