antenna
Quick Summary
Antennae are sensory appendages found at the front of arthropods, including insects, crustaceans, and arachnids. They are crucial for detecting smells and tastes, and in some species, like mosquitoes, they can also function as auditory organs.1234
Antennae are covered in sensory receptors housed within pores in a protective cuticle. These receptors can detect a wide range of chemical compounds, helping arthropods locate food, mates, and navigate their environment. The structure of antennae varies greatly among different arthropod groups, with some having elaborate, feathery antennae to increase their sensitivity to airborne molecules. For example, male moths have large, plumose antennae to detect female pheromones.125
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
insectNervous system…they are particularly abundant in antennae, palps, and cerci. The sense cell of each sensillum gives off a proximal process, or sensory axon, which runs inward to the central nervous system, where it enters the neuropile and makes contact with the endings of association neurons. Bundles of both sensory axons…
Read More…they are particularly abundant in antennae, palps, and cerci. The sense cell of each sensillum gives off a proximal process, or sensory axon, which runs inward to the central nervous system, where it enters the neuropile and makes contact with the endings of association neurons. Bundles of both sensory axons…
Read More
DipteraAntennaeAll flies have antennae. Members of the suborder Nematocera (e.g., crane flies, various midges, and gnats) have whiplike antennae with two basal segments (scape and pedicel) and a flagellum of many similar segments. All other flies, properly called Brachycera, or short horns because the…
Read MoreAll flies have antennae. Members of the suborder Nematocera (e.g., crane flies, various midges, and gnats) have whiplike antennae with two basal segments (scape and pedicel) and a flagellum of many similar segments. All other flies, properly called Brachycera, or short horns because the…
Read More
HymenopteraExternal structureThe antennae vary greatly in form. Rarely are they shorter than the head is wide. Usually they are moderately long, sometimes longer than the body, and composed of many segments. Often the basal segment, or scape, is greatly elongated. In some, segments near the tip are…
Read MoreThe antennae vary greatly in form. Rarely are they shorter than the head is wide. Usually they are moderately long, sometimes longer than the body, and composed of many segments. Often the basal segment, or scape, is greatly elongated. In some, segments near the tip are…
Read More
LepidopteraHeadThe antennae are prominent and multisegmented, with many microscopic receptors (sensilla) for detecting odors. In most moths the antennae are slender and tapering, although in some the surface area of the antennae is greatly enlarged by many side branches that make them comblike or featherlike. In…
Read MoreThe antennae are prominent and multisegmented, with many microscopic receptors (sensilla) for detecting odors. In most moths the antennae are slender and tapering, although in some the surface area of the antennae is greatly enlarged by many side branches that make them comblike or featherlike. In…
Read More
homopteranHeadA pair of antennae, arising below and between the eyes, are usually short and bristlelike, varying in length throughout the group. They are probably the most important sensory structures and are of taxonomic significance in species identification of aphids. Mouth structures of homopterans arise at the back of…
Read MoreA pair of antennae, arising below and between the eyes, are usually short and bristlelike, varying in length throughout the group. They are probably the most important sensory structures and are of taxonomic significance in species identification of aphids. Mouth structures of homopterans arise at the back of…
Read More
chemoreceptionArthropods…insects they are on the antennae. However, in arachnids multiporous hairs occur in different positions in different groups. The olfactory receptors of scorpions are found in structures called pectines that project from the ventral surface of the second segment of the opisthosoma, and in sunspiders they are found in small…
Read More…insects they are on the antennae. However, in arachnids multiporous hairs occur in different positions in different groups. The olfactory receptors of scorpions are found in structures called pectines that project from the ventral surface of the second segment of the opisthosoma, and in sunspiders they are found in small…
Read More- chemoreceptionArthropods
…length or complexity of the antennae is a reflection of the numbers of multiporous sensilla. In insects requiring increased sensitivity, the antennae are branched, providing a larger surface area on which more sensilla can be accommodated. The featherlike (plumose) antennae of some male moths, compared with the slender antennae of…
Read More…length or complexity of the antennae is a reflection of the numbers of multiporous sensilla. In insects requiring increased sensitivity, the antennae are branched, providing a larger surface area on which more sensilla can be accommodated. The featherlike (plumose) antennae of some male moths, compared with the slender antennae of…
Read More - chemoreceptionMovement toward an odor source
…at the bases of the antennae and mechanosensory hairs on the head. The behavior involved in moving upwind varies. Larval insects such as those of the desert locust walk directly upwind if they smell food after having been without it for some time, and adult golden rod beetles exhibit similar…
Read More…at the bases of the antennae and mechanosensory hairs on the head. The behavior involved in moving upwind varies. Larval insects such as those of the desert locust walk directly upwind if they smell food after having been without it for some time, and adult golden rod beetles exhibit similar…
Read More - chemoreceptionAphrodisiac pheromones
…are dusted onto the female antennae as the male hovers over the female during courtship. The odor of the pheromone, perceived by cells on the female’s antennae, induce her to permit the male to copulate.
Read More…are dusted onto the female antennae as the male hovers over the female during courtship. The odor of the pheromone, perceived by cells on the female’s antennae, induce her to permit the male to copulate.
Read More - chemoreceptionAttraction
…has receptor cells on its antennae that respond to the appropriate compounds. For example, the antennal sensory system of cabbage root flies responds strongly to isothiocyanates from cabbage but weakly to most of the disulfides produced by onions. In contrast, the antennal sensory system of the closely related onion fly…
Read More…has receptor cells on its antennae that respond to the appropriate compounds. For example, the antennal sensory system of cabbage root flies responds strongly to isothiocyanates from cabbage but weakly to most of the disulfides produced by onions. In contrast, the antennal sensory system of the closely related onion fly…
Read More - chemoreceptionBlood-feeding insects
…insects have receptors on their antennae that are sensitive to these compounds. Carbon dioxide is also an activator and attractant for several species of bloodsucking insects. Receptors for carbon dioxide have been demonstrated in not only insects that feed on blood but also several other kinds of insects, and these…
Read More…insects have receptors on their antennae that are sensitive to these compounds. Carbon dioxide is also an activator and attractant for several species of bloodsucking insects. Receptors for carbon dioxide have been demonstrated in not only insects that feed on blood but also several other kinds of insects, and these…
Read More 
thermoreceptionThermoreception in invertebrates…to be located in the antennae. This is supported by evidence of impaired thermoreceptive behaviour in insects that have had part or all of their antennae removed. These behavioral studies have been supported by direct studies in which microelectrodes were inserted near the presumed thermosensitive cells in order to record…
Read More…to be located in the antennae. This is supported by evidence of impaired thermoreceptive behaviour in insects that have had part or all of their antennae removed. These behavioral studies have been supported by direct studies in which microelectrodes were inserted near the presumed thermosensitive cells in order to record…
Read More
mechanoreceptionThe sense of touchThe long antennae of many arthropods (e.g., crayfish) and the lengthened tactile hairs (vibrissae) on the snouts of nocturnally active mammals (e.g., cats or rats) serve in tactually sensing objects in the vicinity of the animal’s body, extending and enriching the adaptive function of the sense of…
Read MoreThe long antennae of many arthropods (e.g., crayfish) and the lengthened tactile hairs (vibrissae) on the snouts of nocturnally active mammals (e.g., cats or rats) serve in tactually sensing objects in the vicinity of the animal’s body, extending and enriching the adaptive function of the sense of…
Read More