The neurobiology of the Monarch butterfly compass
Beetz MJ, El Jundi B. Current opinion in insect science, September 2023.
Go to the paper May need a subscription · doi:10.1016/j.cois.2023.101109
What this paper is about
A review of what is known about the monarch's internal compass and the brain structures behind it.
Comparing migratory and non-migratory monarchs gives a way to ask which parts of the brain are adapted for migration specifically, rather than for orientation in general.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have become a superb model system to unravel how the tiny insect brain controls an impressive navigation behavior, such as long-distance migration. Moreover, the ability to compare the neural substrate between migratory and nonmigratory Monarch butterflies provides us with an attractive model to specifically study how the insect brain is adapted for migration. We here review our current progress on the neural substrate of spatial orientation in Monarch butterflies and how their spectacular annual migration might be controlled by their brain. We also discuss open research questions, the answers to which will provide important missing pieces to obtain a full picture of insect migration - from the perception of orientation cues to the neural control of migration.
Abstract reproduced from the published paper, which is licensed CC BY. Copyright remains with the authors.
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