Research in Neurobiology - Olfaction
Olfaction is the scientific term for "smelling". Like other insects, Manducas smell using their antennae. Moths have an extraordinary sense of smell–one million times more sensitive than that of a human being. Nearly all animals depend on their sense of smell for their survival. Smell is especially important for locating food, potential mates, and suitable locations for laying eggs.
Other researchers are using computer simulations to understand another piece of the puzzle–the spread of odor plumes and their interaction with the surrounding air–to better understand how the moths process such rapidly-changing information.
In the photograh, Tom Christensen of the Arizona Research Laboratories, Division of Neurobiology prepares an experiment to study the production and release of sex pheromones in female Manducas.
