Light compass in the provisioning navigation of the subsocial shield bug, Parastrachia japonensis (Heteroptera: Parastrachiidae)

Abstract

The female of the subsocial shield bug, Parastrachia japonensis, provisions food to her nymphs using path integration, a type of navigational strategy that acquires information indicating the traveler's direction and distance. In this study we investigated whether and how P. japonensis females use a light compass involved in orientation at a constant angle with respect to a light source. First, we let the female run toward its burrow in an experimental room when a lamp set on the floor was turned on. Then, we changed the direction of the light source 180°horizontally by switching off the lamp and turning on another lamp on the opposite side. In response to this change, the homing bug turned back immediately. Next, we examined the effects of the light source from two different elevations. It accomplished its path integration task when the light was placed at an azimuth of 45°. When the light was at the zenith (90°), however, the bug lost the correct home direction. These results suggest that in their path integration system P. japonensis use light sources as compass references and, further, that they can estimate their direction from a point located at mid-sky but not the zenith.

Nest and Egg Recognition by Salamanders in the Genus Desmognathus: A Comprehensive Re‐Examination

“…Homing to the nest and egg ⁄ offspring-recognition are aspects of animal ecology that have gained increased attention in recent years. These behaviors have been quantified in phylogenetically diverse invertebrate and vertebrate classes: Arachnida (Morse 1991;Faraji et al 2000), Insecta (Baader 1996;Inouye 2000;Hironaka et al 2007), Actinopterygii (McKaye & Barlow 1976;Loiselle 1983;Green et al 2008), Amphibia (Forester 1979a;Peterson 2000;Chui & Kam 2006a,b), Reptilia (Kushlan 1973;Kushlan & Simon 1981;Vitt & Cooper 1989), Aves (Lahti & Lahti 2002;Bonadonna et al 2003a,b;Jouventin et al 2007) and Mammalia (Sawyer & Rose 1985;Siegrist et al 2003). In this study, we re-examine homing to the nest and egg recognition by salamanders belonging to the genus Desmognathus.…”

“…These behaviors have been quantified in phylogenetically diverse invertebrate and vertebrate classes: Arachnida (Morse 1991; Faraji et al. 2000), Insecta (Baader 1996; Inouye 2000; Hironaka et al. 2007), Actinopterygii (McKaye & Barlow 1976; Loiselle 1983; Green et al.…”

Round-the-clock Homing Behavior of a Subsocial Shield Bug, Parastrachia japonensis (Heteroptera: Parastrachiidae), Using Path Integration

“…The bugs with extended parental behavior are: Sehirus cinctus cinctus (Palisot de Beauvois) (Sites & McPherson 1982;Agrawal et al 2004Agrawal et al , 2005; Adomerus triguttulus (Motchulsky) (Kudo & Nakahira 2004Kudo et al 2006;Nakahira & Kudo 2008); Adomerus variegatus (Signoret) (Mukai et al 2010); Canthophorus niveimarginatus Scott (Sehirinae) (Filippi et al 2009;Baba et al 2011); and the most studied Parastrachia japonensis Scott (Parastrachidae) (Tachikawa & Schaefer 1985;Tsukamoto & Tojo 1992;Tsukamoto et al 1994;Filippi et al 1995aFilippi et al , 1995bFilippi et al , 2000aFilippi et al , 2000bFilippi et al , 2001Filippi et al , 2002Filippi et al , 2005Nomakuchi et al 1998;Hironaka et al 2005Hironaka et al , 2007aHironaka et al , 2007bHironaka et al , 2007cTojo et al 2005). In a laboratory experiment adults and nymphs of Adrisa magna Uhler were observed to carry seeds of Sophora japonica L. (Leguminosae) to shelter places allowing communal feeding and possible provisioning for nymphs (Takeuchi & Tamura 2000).…”