Decision‐making and motor control in predatory insects: a review of the praying mantis

Yamawaki, Yoshifumi

doi:10.1111/een.12452

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 128 publications

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“…The praying mantis shows the three types of visually‐guided behaviors described above (Yamawaki, ). Male mantises probably fly to seek for female (Maxwell, ) and then need to control their flight course.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Yamawaki

2019

J of Comparative Neurology

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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. To understand the functional organization of LOX, intracellular electrodes were used for recording from and staining neurons in these neuropils of the mantis (Tenodera aridifolia). The neurons belonged to three categories based on their response properties and morphologies. First, tangential ALO‐V neurons projecting to ventromedial neuropils (VMNP) (TAproM1 and 2), tangential DLO (or ALO‐D) neurons projecting to VMNP (TDproM1 and 2), and tangential ALO‐V centrifugal neurons (TAcen) all showed directional sensitivity and sustained excitation to gratings drifting in preferred direction (outward–downward, inward–upward, outward–upward, inward–downward, and inward, respectively). Second, tangential OLO neurons projecting to VMNP or ventrolateral neuropils (VLNP) (TOproM or TOproL), columnar OLO commissural neurons (COcom), and SLO commissural neurons (Scom) all showed strong excitation to 2°–8° moving squares but little excitations to drifting gratings. COcom and SLO neurons ramified in both left and right LOX. Last, the class of tangential ALO‐V neurons projecting to VLNP (TAproL1, 2, and 3) responded best to looming circles and showed little excitation to receding, darkening, and lightening circles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Yamawaki

2019

J of Comparative Neurology

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“…Therefore, it is likely that bees are visually more detectable and stimulating for mantises. The praying mantis visually detects prey and captures it with its forelegs (Roeder 1960 ; Yamawaki 2017 ) and their rate of attack is a good indicator of their feeding decisions. Therefore, we presented the different prey types in front of mantises by mechanically moving them at a constant speed to elicit mantis strikes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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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. In the present study, we investigated avoidance learning in a sit-and-wait predator, the praying mantis (Tenodera aridifolia). To examine the effects of conspicuousness and novelty of prey on avoidance learning, we used three different prey species: mealworms (novel prey), honeybees (novel prey with conspicuous signals) and crickets (familiar prey). We sequentially presented the prey species in pairs and made one of them artificially bitter. In the absence of bitterness, the mantises consumed bees and crickets more frequently than mealworms. When the prey were made bitter, the mantises still continued to attack bitter crickets as expected. However, they reduced their attacks on bitter mealworms more than on bitter bees. This contrasts with the fact that conspicuous signals (e.g. coloration in bees) facilitate avoidance learning in active foraging predators. Surprisingly, we found that the bitter bees were totally rejected after an attack whereas bitter mealworms were partially eaten (~35%). Our results highlight the fact that the mantises might maintain a selection pressure on bees, and perhaps on aposematic species in general.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10905-018-9665-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…To add to this complexity is the influence of the animal’s dynamic physiological state—known as the internal state—which is responsible for giving definition to the current motivation [ 16 ]. In conjunction with the integrated sensory cues from the environment, motivation influences moment-to-moment, goal-orientated behavior [ 11 , 17 , 18 ]. How internal states influence the neural processes that direct behavior is unknown, but regardless of mechanism, they have been identified as a major contributor in instigating behavioral shifts [ 3 , 9 , 10 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal state effects on behavioral shifts in freely behaving praying mantises (Tenodera sinensis)

et al. 2021

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How we interact with our environment largely depends on both the external cues presented by our surroundings and the internal state from within. Internal states are the ever-changing physiological conditions that communicate the immediate survival needs and motivate the animal to behaviorally fulfill them. Satiety level constitutes such a state, and therefore has a dynamic influence on the output behaviors of an animal. In predatory insects like the praying mantis, hunting tactics, grooming, and mating have been shown to change hierarchical organization of behaviors depending on satiety. Here, we analyze behavior sequences of freely hunting praying mantises (Tenodera sinensis) to explore potential differences in sequential patterning of behavior as a correlate of satiety. First, our data supports previous work that showed starved praying mantises were not just more often attentive to prey, but also more often attentive to further prey. This was indicated by the increased time fraction spent in attentive bouts such as prey monitoring, head turns (to track prey), translations (closing the distance to the prey), and more strike attempts. With increasing satiety, praying mantises showed reduced time in these behaviors and exhibited them primarily towards close-proximity prey. Furthermore, our data demonstrates that during states of starvation, the praying mantis exhibits a stereotyped pattern of behavior that is highly motivated by prey capture. As satiety increased, the sequenced behaviors became more variable, indicating a shift away from the necessity of prey capture to more fluid presentations of behavior assembly.

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Decision‐making and motor control in predatory insects: a review of the praying mantis

Cited by 13 publications

References 128 publications

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

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

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

Internal state effects on behavioral shifts in freely behaving praying mantises (Tenodera sinensis)

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