Visual stimulus characteristics that elicit tracking and striking in the Praying Mantises, Parasphendale affinis (Giglio-Tos), Popa spurca (Stål), and Sphodromantis lineola (Burmeister)

Abstract

SUMMARYWe tested three species of praying mantis, Parasphendale affinis, Popa spurca and Sphodromantis lineola, with computergenerated stimuli that differed in size, contrast, configuration and movement pattern to determine the effects of these parameters on visual tracking and striking behavior. Overall, black disks moving erratically against a white background were strong releasers of both behaviors. When stimulus presentation order was randomized by size, P. affinis and P. spurca struck at progressively higher rates as the stimuli enlarged up to 44 deg; S. lineola struck most at intermediate sized (10-20 deg) disks. When disks were size-ordered from small to large, P. affinis and S. lineola struck at the smaller disks at higher rates; however, when the order was reversed, the early appearance of large disks suppressed subsequent responses to the smaller disks. Stimulus order did not differentially affect the responses of P. spurca. All species responded at higher rates to black disks moving against a white background versus the reverse. However, only P. spurca and S. lineola responded at higher rates to relatively darker grey disks, only P. affinis responded to mottled grey disks moving against an identically patterned background, and only P. spurca struck more frequently in response to rectangular stimuli oriented parallel (versus orthogonal) to their direction of movement. In conjunction with data on other species, these results support the hypothesis that praying mantises recognize prey based on assessment of several category-specific, spatiotemporal features, e.g. size, contrast, speed, movement pattern and leading edge length.

Circadian rhythms affect the electroretinogram, compound eye color, striking behavior, and locomotion of the praying mantis,Hierodula patellifera(Serville)

“…2). As is the case for all species of mantis tested (Prete et al, 2013a), H. patellifera both tracked and struck at significantly higher overall rates in response to black (relatively darker) versus the white (relatively brighter) disks moving against the gray background (z≥3.08, P≤0.002). In fact, none of the response rates to the white stimuli exceeded 0.23 or 0.36 for tracking and striking, respectively, and there were no differences between the night and day response rates elicited by the white disks.…”

“…The experiments included (1) chronic electroretinograms (ERGs) to assess changes in compound eye sensitivity; (2) photographic, colorimetric analyses of compound eye color changes which result from screening pigment migration; (3) behavioral tests to assess changes in tracking and striking responses to computer generated visual stimuli (e.g. Prete et al, 2013a;Prete et al, 2013b); and (4) analyses of gross locomotor activity on a modified treadmill.…”

Patterns of variation in feeding strike kinematics of juvenile ghost praying mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa): are components of the strike stereotypic?

“…Nevertheless, few studies have examined the relationship of prey size on strike kinematics, although behavioral studies suggest the modification of behavior (i.e. proportion of strikes) is based more on prey distance than size (Nityananda et al, 2016a,b;Prete et al, 2013). Loxton and Nichols (1979) even modeled the optimal prey size that should elicit striking behavior, but not the associated kinematics.…”

“…Many studies have examined the relationship of varying visual targets with strike response (e.g. Prete et al, 2013), but few have investigated patterns of kinematic variation associated with varying visual stimuli. The integration of these two functional systems (vision and feeding) may provide insight into the coordination of the systems, feedback control in the systems, modulation of the feeding strikes and evolutionary relationships between the eyes of praying mantises and their raptorial feeding appendage.…”

Two-headed butterfly vs. mantis: do false antennae matter?

“…Salticid spiders and birds are active hunters that are probably able to use fine details to identify and attack butterflies, while sit-and-wait predators, such as mantises, appear to recognize prey by assessing a number of general features in objects found in the environment (Kral, 2012; Prete et al, 2013). According to behavioural and electrophysiological studies (reviewed in Prete et al, 2013), the main features used by mantises include the size of the object, contrast with the background, leading edge length, speed and movement pattern.…”