One of the most conspicuous features of many moth species is their antennae, which can be strikingly elaborate. However, the factors that have influenced the evolution of these impressive receptor organs remain poorly known. Antennae are potentially costly structures, and previous research has indicated that investment in these structures may be traded‐off against investment in other organs, depending on the mating strategy in which individuals engage. Using a phylogenetic comparative analysis of data from dissected wild‐caught individuals from 44 Australian moth species, we examined potential trade‐offs and correlations between antennal size (measured as antenna length and antenna area) and the size of a range of other morphological features related to paternity (testis area), and vision (eye diameter). Antenna area did not show any evidence of a trade‐off with testis size (area) after controlling for body size and phylogeny. Further, relative antenna length was positively correlated with relative eye size, suggesting that investment in both sensory structures is linked. Analysis of the allometric scaling of antennal size and eye diameter found that larger moth species invested relatively more in the size of their male antennae (both area and length) than in the size of their eyes. These results indicate different patterns of investment in sensory structures in relation to body size, with larger moth species favouring the evolution of more elaborate antennae in males.

中文翻译：

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蛾类触角大小的进化（鳞翅目）：对澳大利亚物种潜在的取舍和相关生长的比较测试

许多蛾类物种最明显的特征之一是触角，触角可能非常精美。然而，影响这些令人印象深刻的受体器官进化的因素仍然鲜为人知。天线可能是昂贵的结构，以前的研究表明，对这些结构的投资可能会与对其他器官的投资进行权衡，这取决于个人参与的交配策略。通过对来自44个澳大利亚蛾类物种的野外捕获个体的数据进行系统发育比较分析，我们研究了触角大小（以触角长度和触角面积衡量）与其他相关形态特征大小之间的潜在权衡和相关亲子关系（睾丸区）和视力（眼睛直径）。在控制了身体大小和系统发育之后，天线面积没有显示出与睾丸大小（面积）之间进行权衡的任何证据。此外，相对天线长度为与相对眼睛大小正相关，表明在两个感觉结构上的投资是相关的。对触角大小和眼睛直径的异度缩放比例的分析发现，较大的蛾类物种在其雄性触角大小（面积和长度）上的投入要比在其眼睛大小上相对多。这些结果表明，与体型有关的感觉结构投资方式不同，蛾类越多，雄性触角的进化就越有利。