Insect Locomotion on Land

Delcomyn, Fred

doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-4064-5_5

Cited by 36 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Crickets are likely to use the alternating tripod gait when moving fast (Delcomyn, 1981 (Delcomyn, 1981), p. 110], suggesting that the costs of autotomy would be most evident during faster paces, as we found.…”

Section: Table·3 Comparative Data For the Energetics Of Locomotion Imentioning

confidence: 61%

“…The effects of limb amputation on locomotion (reviewed by Delcomyn, 1981) have been examined in cockroaches (Delcomyn, 1971;Hughes, 1957), beetles (Wilson, 1966) and stick insects (Graham, 1977). Loss of even a single limb in cockroaches results in a significant alteration to the posture of the remaining limbs (Hughes, 1957).…”

Section: Table·3 Comparative Data For the Energetics Of Locomotion Imentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Just drop it and run: the effect of limb autotomy on running distance and locomotion energetics of field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)

Fleming

Bateman

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY This is the first study to examine the direct metabolic costs of autotomy,the voluntary shedding of an appendage as an escape mechanism, in invertebrates. We investigated the effects of limb autotomy upon endurance and metabolic cost of locomotion in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Compared with control (intact) crickets, animals that had autotomised a single hindlimb were slower, stopped more often, moved a shorter distance and expended more energy doing so. Both the cost of locomotion (COT)and minimal cost of locomotion (MCOT) were significantly higher for autotomised animals. We compare these data with locomotion energetics of 36 other invertebrate species, and discuss the results in terms of the biomechanics of walking in crickets.

show abstract

Section: Table·3 Comparative Data For the Energetics Of Locomotion Imentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Table·3 Comparative Data For the Energetics Of Locomotion Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Just drop it and run: the effect of limb autotomy on running distance and locomotion energetics of field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)

Fleming

Bateman

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Insect gaits range from a tripod coordination in fast walkers to a metachronal or wave gait in slow walkers. Between these extremes, intermediate gaits occur (Hughes, 1952) (for reviews, see Wilson, 1966;Graham, 1985;Delcomyn, 1981;Ritzmann and Büschges, 2007). In the tripod gait, 'two mirror-image tripods step in an alternating pattern such that the animal always has at least three feet touching the ground' (Bender et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of course, insect inter-leg coordination patterns depend on the behavioural context and environmental conditions such as surface structure, slopes, orientation of the body or specifics of an experimental setup (e.g. Spirito and Mushrush, 1979;Delcomyn, 1981;Graham, 1985;Duch and Pflüger, 1995;Dürr, 2005;Gruhn et al, 2009;Bender et al, 2011). And thus, in contrast to walks on the sphere, Graham reported that free-walking adult stick insects (Carausius morosus) on a horizontal surface almost exclusively use a 'biquadruped'; that is, a tetrapod gait (Graham, 1972).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quadrupedal gaits in hexapod animals - inter-leg coordination in free-walking adult stick insects

Grabowska

Godlewska

Schmidt

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYThe analysis of inter-leg coordination in insect walking is generally a study of six-legged locomotion. For decades, the stick insect Carausius morosus has been instrumental for unravelling the rules and mechanisms that control leg coordination in hexapeds. We analysed inter-leg coordination in C. morosus that freely walked on straight paths on plane surfaces with different slopes. Consecutive 1.7s sections were assigned inter-leg coordination patterns (which we call gaits) based on footfall patterns. Regular gaits, i.e. wave, tetrapod or tripod gaits, occurred in different proportions depending on surface slopes. Tetrapod gaits were observed most frequently, wave gaits only occurred on 90deg inclining slopes and tripod gaits occurred most often on 15deg declining slopes, i.e. in 40% of the sections. Depending on the slope, 36-66% of the sections were assigned irregular gaits. Irregular gaits were mostly due to multiple stepping by the front legs, which is perhaps probing behaviour, not phase coupled to the middle legsʼ cycles. In irregular gaits, middle leg and hindleg coordination was regular, related to quadrupedal walk and wave gaits. Apparently, front legs uncouple from and couple to the walking system without compromising middle leg and hindleg coordination. In front leg amputees, the remaining legs were strictly coordinated. In hindleg and middle leg amputees, the front legs continued multiple stepping. The coordination of middle leg amputees was maladapted, with front legs and hindlegs performing multiple steps or ipsilateral legs being in simultaneous swing. Thus, afferent information from middle legs might be necessary for a regular hindleg stepping pattern. Supplementary material available online at

show abstract

“…The neural control system for most, if not all, rhythmic behaviors appears to contain a central pattern generator in some form (Delcomyn 1981), but it is also generally recognized that sensory signals influence the actual pattern in important ways (Bgssler 1986;Delcomyn 1985;Pearson 1981). A test for such a CPG in the walking system of the stick insect was negative (B/issler and Wegner 1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modular artificial neural net for controlling a six-legged walking system

et al. 1995

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A system that controls the leg movement of an animal or a robot walking over irregular ground has to ensure stable support for the body and at the same time propel it forward. To do so, it has to react adaptively to unpredictable features of the environment. As part of our study of the underlying mechanisms, we present here a model for the control of the leg movement of a 6-legged walking system. The model is based on biological data obtained from the stick insect. It represents a combined treatment of realistic kinematics and biologically motivated, adaptive gait generation. The model extends a previous algorithmic model by substituting simple networks of artificial neurons for the algorithms previously used to control leg state and interleg coordination. Each system controlling an individual leg consists of three subnets. A hierarchically superior net contains two sensory and two 'premotor' units; it rhythmically suppresses the output of one or the other of the two subordinate nets. These are continuously active. They might be called the 'swing module' and the 'stance module' because they are responsible for controlling the swing (return stroke) and the stance (power stroke) movements, respectively. The swing module consists of three motor units and seven sensory units. It can produce appropriate return stroke movements for a broad range of initial and final positions, can cope with mechanical disturbances of the leg movement, and is able to react to an obstacle which hinders the normal performance of the swing movement. The complete model is able to walk at different speeds over irregular surfaces. The control system rapidly reestablishes a stable gait when the movement of the legs is disturbed.

show abstract

Insect Locomotion on Land

Cited by 36 publications

References 33 publications

Just drop it and run: the effect of limb autotomy on running distance and locomotion energetics of field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)

Just drop it and run: the effect of limb autotomy on running distance and locomotion energetics of field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)

Quadrupedal gaits in hexapod animals - inter-leg coordination in free-walking adult stick insects

A modular artificial neural net for controlling a six-legged walking system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About