Roles of muscle activities in foreleg movements during predatory strike of the mantis.

Foreleg trajectory in the mantis strike varies depending on prey distance. To examine how muscle activities affect foreleg trajectory, we recorded strike behaviours of the Chinese mantis with a high-speed camera and electromyograms of the foreleg trochanteral extensor and flexor. At the approach phase of the mantis strike, the prothorax-coxa (P-C) joint elevated and the femur-tibia (F-T) joint extended.

Aldehyde-specific responses of olfactory sensory neurons in the praying mantis.

Although praying mantises rely mainly on vision for predatory behaviours, olfaction also plays a critical role in feeding and mating behaviours. However, the receptive processes underlying olfactory signals remain unclear. Here, we identified olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that are highly tuned to detect aldehydes in the mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

Three-dimensional atlas of thoracic ganglia in the praying mantis, Tenodera aridifolia.

The praying mantis is a good model for the study of motor control, especially for investigating the transformation from sensory signals into motor commands. In insects, thoracic ganglia (TG) play an important role in motor control. To understand the functional organization of TG, an atlas is useful.

Unraveling the functional organization of lobula complex in the mantis brain by identification of visual interneurons.

The praying mantis shows broad repertories of visually guided behaviors such as prey recognition and defense against collision. It is likely that neurons in the lobula complex (LOX), the third visual neuropil in the optic lobe, play significant roles in these behaviors. The LOX in the mantis brain consists of five neuropils: outer lobes 1 and 2 (OLO1 and OLO2); anterior lobe (ALO); dorsal lobe (DLO); and stalk lobe (SLO), and ALO comprise ventral and dorsal subunits, ALO-V and ALO-D.

Aversive Learning in the Praying Mantis (), a Sit and Wait Predator.

Animals learn to associate sensory cues with the palatability of food in order to avoid bitterness in food (a common sign of toxicity). Associations are important for active foraging predators to avoid unpalatable prey and to invest energy in searching for palatable prey only. However, it has been suggested that sit-and-wait predators might rely on the opportunity that palatable prey approach them by chance: the most efficient strategy could be to catch every available prey and then decide whether to ingest them or not.

Head Movements During Visual Orienting Toward Moving Prey in the Lizard Takydromus tachydromoides.

It is important to investigate visual orienting in reptiles to better understand the basic organization of the oculomotor system in vertebrates. However, quantitative analyses of visual orienting behavior in reptiles have rarely been conducted, except in chameleons. In the present study, we videorecorded the head and body movements of the lizard Takydromus tachydromoides during visual tracking of moving prey and analyzed them frame-by-frame.

Organization of the antennal lobes in the praying mantis (Tenodera aridifolia).

Olfaction in insects plays pivotal roles in searching for food and/or for sexual partners. Although many studies have focused on the olfactory processes of nonpredatory insect species, little is known about those in predatory insects. Here, we investigated the anatomical features of the primary olfactory center (antennal lobes) in an insect predator whose visual system is well developed, the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

Behavioural interactions between the lizard and the praying mantis suggest reciprocal predation between them.

The Japanese lacertid lizard and the praying mantis are sympatric generalist predators feeding on similar prey. To confirm reciprocal predation between them, we observed the behavioural interactions between the lizards and the mantises of different sizes in a laboratory condition. The lizards caught small mantises (from first to fifth instars), but sometimes escaped from large mantises (from sixth instar to adult).

Antennal development in the praying mantis (Tenodera aridifolia) highlights multitudinous processes in hemimetabolous insect species.

Insects possess antennae equipped with a large number of segments (flagellomeres) on which sensory organs (sensilla) are located. Hemimetabolous insects grow by molting until they reach adulthood. In these species, the sensory structures develop and mature during each stage of development; new flagellomeres are generated at each molt elongating the antennae, and new sensilla appear.

Role of a looming-sensitive neuron in triggering the defense behavior of the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

In responses to looming objects, the praying mantis shows a defense behavior, which consists of retracting forelegs under the prothorax. The role of a looming-sensitive neuron in triggering this behavior was investigated by simultaneously recording the activity and behavioral responses of the neuron. The mantis initiated the defense behavior earlier in response to larger and slower looming stimuli.

Antennal pointing at a looming object in the cricket Acheta domesticus.

Antennal pointing responses to approaching objects were observed in the house cricket Acheta domesticus. In response to a ball approaching from the lateral side, crickets oriented the antenna ipsilateral to the ball towards it. In response to a ball approaching from the front, crickets oriented both antennae forward.

The antennal sensilla of the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia: a new flagellar partition based on the antennal macro-, micro- and ultrastructures.

In insects, the antenna consists of a scapus, a pedicellus, and a flagellum comprising many segments (flagellomeres). These segments possess many morphological types of sensory organs (sensilla) to process multimodal sensory information. We observed the sensilla on flagellomeres in praying mantis (Tenodera aridifolia) with both scanning and transmission electron microscopes.

Defensive gin-trap closure response of tenebrionid beetle, Zophobas atratus, pupae.

Pupae of the beetle Zophobas atratus Fab. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) have jaws called gin traps on the lateral margin of their jointed abdominal segments. When a weak tactile stimulation was applied to the intersegmental region between the two jaws of a gin trap in a resting pupa, the pupa rapidly closed and reopened single or multiple gin traps adjacent to the stimulated trap for 100200 ms.

Defensive abdominal rotation patterns of tenebrionid beetle, Zophobas atratus, pupae.

Exarate pupae of the beetle Zophobas atratus Fab. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) have free appendages (antenna, palp, leg, and elytron) that are highly sensitive to mechanical stimulation. A weak tactile stimulus applied to any appendage initiated a rapid rotation of abdominal segments.

Defence behaviours of the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia in response to looming objects.

Defence responses to approaching objects were observed in the mantis Tenodera aridifolia. The mantis showed three kinds of behaviour, fixation, evasion and cryptic reaction. The cryptic reaction consisted of rapid retraction of the forelegs under the prothorax or rapid extending of the forelegs in the forward direction.

Coordinated movements of the head and body during orienting behaviour in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

The visual orienting behaviour towards prey in the free-moving mantis was investigated with a high-speed camera. The orienting behaviour consisted of head, prothorax, and abdomen rotations. Coordinated movements of these body parts in the horizontal plane were analysed frame-by-frame.

A descending contralateral directionally selective movement detector in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

Extracellular recordings were made from a directionally selective neuron in the ventral nerve cord of mantises. The neuron's preferred direction of motion was forward and upward over the compound eye contralateral to its axon at the cervical connective. The neuron was sensitive to wide-field motion stimuli, resistant to habituation, and showed transient excitation in response to light ON and OFF stimuli.

Responses of descending neurons to looming stimuli in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia.

Responses to visual stimuli of some neurons that descend the nerve cord from the brain were recorded extracellularly in the mantis Tenodera aridifolia. Most of the recorded neurons showed their largest responses to looming stimuli that simulated a black circle approaching towards the mantis. The neurons showed a transient excitatory response to a gradually darkening or receding circle.

Preparing for escape: an examination of the role of the DCMD neuron in locust escape jumps.

Many animals begin to escape by moving away from a threat the instant it is detected. However, the escape jumps of locusts take several hundred milliseconds to produce and the locust must therefore be prepared for escape before the jumping movement can be triggered. In this study we investigate a locust's preparations to escape a looming stimulus and concurrent spiking activity in its pair of uniquely identifiable looming-detector neurons (the descending contralateral movement detectors; DCMDs).

Investigating saccade programming in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia using distracter interference paradigms.

To investigate the saccadic system in the mantis, I applied distracter interference paradigms. These involved presenting the mantis with a fixation target and one or several distracters supposed to affect saccades towards the target. When a single target was presented, a medium-sized target located in its lower visual field elicited higher rates of saccade response.

Motor activity and trajectory control during escape jumping in the locust Locusta migratoria.

We investigated the escape jumps that locusts produce in response to approaching objects. Hindleg muscular activity during an escape jump is similar to that during a defensive kick. Locusts can direct their escape jumps up to 50 degrees either side of the direction of their long axis at the time of hindleg flexion, allowing them to consistently jump away from the side towards which an object is approaching.

Visual recognition of the host in the parasitoid fly Exorista japonica.

We presented the tachinid fly Exorista japonica with moving host models: a freeze-dried larva of the common armyworm Mythimna separata, a black rubber tube, and a black rubber sheet, to examine the effects of size, curvature, and velocity on visual recognition of the host. The host models were moved around the fly on a metal arm driven by motor. The size of the larva, the velocity of movement, and the length and diameter of the rubber tube were varied.

Response properties of visual interneurons to motion stimuli in the praying mantis, Tenodera aridifolia.

Intracellular responses of motion-sensitive visual interneurons were recorded from the lobula complex of the mantis, Tenodera aridifolia. The interneurons were divided into four classes according to the response polarity, spatial tuning, and directional selectivity. Neurons of the first class had small, medium, or large receptive fields and showed a strong excitation in response to a small-field motion such as a small square moving in any direction (SF neurons).

Visual control of host pursuit in the parasitoid fly Exorista japonica.

The tachinid fly Exorista japonica is a parasitoid of many kinds of lepidopterous larvae. After encountering a suitable host, the fly pursues the crawling larva on foot using visual cues to guide it. To investigate the visual control of host pursuit, we observed and videotaped pursuits of a host, the common armyworm Mythimna separata, for frame-by-frame analysis.