Spatio-temporal patterns of antennal movements in the searching cockroach

Abstract

SUMMARY To characterize the spatio-temporal patterns of antennal behavior in insects, the voluntary movement of both right and left antennae was examined in the cockroach Periplaneta americana. The position of the tip of the antenna (flagellum) is controlled by two mobile joints at its base (the scape and the pedicel) and by the neck. Horizontal and vertical components of movement at the antennal basal joints exhibited rhythmic activities during locomotory (walking) and non-locomotory (pausing) states in the searching animal. In both states, the horizontal component was slower than vertical one. Joint-manipulation experiments suggested that the faster vertical component is due mainly to movements of the scape–pedicel joint, while the slower horizontal component may originate from the head–scape joint. Large horizontal deflections of the antenna corresponded consistently with the yaw component of head movement. The trajectories of the antennae showed little patterned regularity in most animals. In a few cases, however, loop-like patterns appeared. The area scanned by an antenna was narrower in the walking state than in the pausing state, mainly because of a decrease in the horizontal angular range. Cross-correlation analyses revealed that the coupling between right and left horizontal antennal motor systems and that for the vertical systems were both significantly stronger in the walking state than during pausing. These results indicate that the spatio-temporal pattern of antennal movements changes dynamically depending on the animal's behavioral state.