Moth proboscis morphology material properties raw data

Insects have evolved unique structures that host a diversity of material and mechanical properties, and the mouthparts (proboscis) of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are no exception. Here, we examined proboscis morphology and material properties from several previously unstudied moth lineages to determine if they relate to flower-visiting and non-flower-visiting feeding habits. Scanning electron microscopy and 3D imaging were used to study proboscis morphology and assess surface roughness patterns on the galeal surface, respectively. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to study patterns of cuticular autofluorescence, which was quantified with color analysis software. We found that moth proboscises display similar color and morphological patterns in relation to these feeding habits as those previously described for flower and non-flower-visiting butterflies. The distal region of proboscises of non-flower visitors is brush-like for augmented capillarity and exhibited blue autofluorescence, indicating the possible presence of resilin and increased flexibility. Flower visitors have smoother proboscises and show red autofluorescence, an indicator of high sclerotization, which is adaptive for floral tube entry. We propose the lepidopteran proboscis as a model structure for understanding how insects have evolved a suite of morphological and material adaptations to overcome the challenges of acquiring fluids from diverse sources.

Methods
Data was collected from moth proboscises using scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. We conducted 12 proboscis measurments, which are represented in the table as "proboscis length", "drinking region length", "% drinking region", "dorsal legulae width in drinking region", "dorsal legulae width in nondrinking region", "sensilla styloconica number", "sensilla styloconica length", "sensilla styloconica density", and different surface roughness measurements gathered with 3D imaging on the scanning electron microscope. In addition, we quantified autofluorescence patterns of the proboscis cuticle using confocal microscopy and color quantification analysis software.