The impact of infrared radiation in flight control in the Australian "firebeetle" Merimna atrata.

Infrared (IR) receptors are rare in insects and have only been found in the small group of so-called pyrophilous insects, which approach forest fires. In previous work the morphology of the IR receptors and the physiology of the inherent sensory cells have been investigated. It was shown that receptors are located on the thorax and the abdomen respectively and show an astounding diversity with respect to structure and the presumed transduction mechanism.