Meeting Abstract
The order Mantodea consists of over 2,300 species of insects that have two spiked, enlarged, grasping (raptorial) forelegs, which are moved in a coordinated fashion to capture prey. Mantis specialization and diversification of morphology and behavior in response to various environments has led to ambush, generalist, and cursorial hunting strategies. Previous Mantis studies have focused on vision and prey recognition or courtship and mating behavior, yet there has been little to no research concentrating on the kinematics of the feeding strikes across the spectrum of species. The mantis method of predation typically consists of a period of visual pursuit, approach, rapid capture or sweep, and ingestion of prey. The goal of this study is to examine the interspecific variation in the strike kinematics and feeding behavior of praying mantises. Species comparisons between the ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa), Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina), Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), and thistle mantis (Blepharopus mendica) were conducted by evaluating the feeding strikes of 1-5 individuals per species at the last juvenile stage (instar 6) and the adult life stage (instar 7). Feeding strikes were filmed at 1000 Hz with a high-speed camera, and several points on each video were digitized to measure foreleg and body size, as well as determine the movement of the coxa, trochanter-femur, and tibia of the raptorial foreleg, and body lunge to calculate strike kinematics. Kinematics, including angles, angular velocity, amount of lunge, and timing of events will be compared across species. Results will be discussed in the context of morphology, ecology and life-style of the mantises to determine if the detailed kinematics are similar across species or if components of the strikes vary. These results will provide information on the amount of diversity associated with a complex functional system.
