Dependence of Flight On Temperature Regulation in the Moth, Manduca Sexta

Abstract

Manduca sexta can behaviourally regulate its temperature, but the temperature level is not determined by a simple thermal set-point. Thermoregulation is not localized in a cephalic nervous centre. Both of these characteristics distinguish thermoregulation in M. sexta from thermoregulation as seen in vertebrates. Sustained high temperature is a requisite for flight activity, but regulation of internal temperature is a secondary feature in M. sexta subserving efficient tuning of the flight system.