Prete F R, Mahaffey R J
Department of Psychology, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 43023.
Vis Neurosci. 1993 Jul-Aug;10(4):669-79. doi: 10.1017/s0952523800005368.
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.
将成年雌性有翅螳螂（Sphodromantis lineola (Burr.)）固定起来，向它们呈现各种计算机生成的视觉刺激，这些刺激以预定模式和预定速度在有图案或均匀白色背景上移动。刺激配置引发捕食行为（试图接近和/或攻击）的程度表明刺激被归类为猎物的相对程度。螳螂很容易攻击视角高达24.5度×62.5度的卡通“蟋蟀”，但如果刺激叠加在水平移动的有图案背景上，反应率会受到抑制。螳螂对以预定“不规则”路径移动的黑色方块（边长 = 10 - 47度）也表现出捕食行为；然而，它们的反应率受到几个因素的影响：（1）随着边长超过10度，反应率下降；（2）在距离23毫米（但不能更远）处观察到的刺激会引发攻击行为；（3）刺激位移率（视频帧之间移动的距离）和视在速度（视频帧率）都极大地影响刺激的释放强度。最后，螳螂对在相同图案背景上同步移动的随机点图案以及在白色背景上同步移动的一对黑色方块有捕食反应。然而，在后一种情况下，随着方块在水平或垂直方向上移得更远，反应率会下降。我们实验室对螳螂的这些以及先前的研究结果与从其他昆虫如苍蝇（双翅目）和蜻蜓（蜻蜓目）获得的行为结果一致，并表明这些类群之间存在神经解剖学上的相似性。
