Tethered adult female praying mantises, Sphodromantis lineola (Burr.), were presented with various computer-generated visual stimuli that moved against patterned or homogeneous white backgrounds in predetermined patterns and at predetermined speeds. The degrees to which the stimulus configurations elicited appetitive behaviors (attempting to approach and/or striking) indicated the relative degrees to which the stimuli were classified as prey. Mantises readily struck at cartoon “crickets” that subtended visual angles as great as 24.5 deg x 62.5 deg, but response rate was suppressed if the stimuli were superimposed on horizontally moving patterned backgrounds. Mantises also displayed appetitive behaviors to moving black squares (edge lengths = 10–47 deg) that moved in predetermined “erratic” paths; however, their response rates were affected by several factors: (1) response rate declined as edge length increased over 10 deg; (2) striking was emitted to stimuli viewed from 23 mm (but not farther) away; and (3) both stimulus displacement rate (distance moved between video frames) and apparent speed (video frame rate) dramatically affected the releasing strength of the stimuli. Finally, mantises responded appetitively to random dot patterns moving synchronously against identically patterned backgrounds and to pairs of black squares moving synchronously against a white background. However, in the latter case, response rate declined as the squares were moved farther apart horizontally or vertically. These and previous results from our laboratory on mantises are congruent with behavioral results obtained from other insects such as flies (Diptera) and dragon flies (Odonata) and suggest that there are neuroanatomical similarities between these groups.

To assess the role of stimulus speed and order on the predatory behaviors of the praying mantis Sphodromantis lineola (Burr.), tethered adult females were presented with various flat black stimuli (lures) by means of a variable speed mechanical arm. Lure speed had a dramatic effect on mantis behavior: mantises emitted significantly more strikes to a 6 x 6 mm square and to 'worm’ lures (i.e. length > width=6 mm) moving at 34.3 cm/sec than they did to 'antiworm' lures (i.e. width>length=6 mm), or to slower moving lures. These effects were consistent over lure directions (0–75° relative to the mantis' long axis), and background patterns. On the other hand, mantises emitted significantly more approaching behavior to lures moving at 12 cm/sec than to lures moving at 36 cm/sec. This suggests that S. lineola extract distance information from retinal image velocity, as do other insects. Stimulus order also effected mantis predatory behavior: for instance, mantises were more likely to track a lure without striking at it on the first trial than on subsequent trials. However, after the first trial, they were also more likely to freeze (become immobile) when a lure was presented. Mantises were also less likely to strike at a preferred lure if it was preceded by one or two non-preferred lures. In a final experiment, intact, freely moving mantises were placed in an arena, presented with adult crickets, and video taped. The behaviors of the freely moving mantises were congruent with those of the tethered mantises in the previous experiments. This series of experiments demonstrates that the information processing capabilities of S. lineola are more complex than generally depicted, however, they can be explained by assuming a neural organization similar to that of other insects such as flies (Diptera) and dragonflies (Odonata).

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