Abstract
Cockroaches can defend themselves from threats by escape behavior. Although wind-evoked turning in Periplaneta americana is robust, little is known about the turning and translational components of the escape response to looming and localized heat stimuli, especially in other cockroach species. In particular, it has been suggested that the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) lacks an escape response. Our goal was to use high-speed video to explore both the turning and translational components of the escape response of Madagascar cockroaches to looming and heat stimuli. Our results demonstrate that, in contrast to expectations based on previous studies, Madagascar cockroaches do show an escape response that was adapted to looming direction and heat location. Although the escape response to looming stimuli was limited, the response to heat stimulation of their tarsi was unexpectedly robust, especially in translation. The translational responses to both looming and heat were directionally similar (160o and 166o). Our results demonstrate that G. portentosa also exhibits a well-organized escape response and emphasize the need to quantify both turning and translation to obtain a more complete description of an animals’ escape movement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell WJ, Roth LM, Nalepa CA (2007) Cockroaches: ecology, behavior, and natural history. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
Camhi JM, Tom W, Volman S (1978) The escape behavior of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 128:203–212
Card GM (2012) Escape behaviors in insects. Curr Opin Neurobiol 22:180–186
Card G, Dickinson MH (2008) Visually mediated motor planning in the escape response of drosophila. Curr Biol 18:1300–1307
Clark AJ, Triblehorn JD (2014) Mechanical properties of the cuticles of three cockroach species that differ in their wind-evoked escape behavior. PeerJ 2:e501
Cooper WE (2006) Risk factors and escape strategy in the grasshopper Dissosteira carolina. Behaviour 143:1201–1218
Daltorio KA, Tietz BR, Bender JA, Webster VA, Szczecinski NS, Branicky MS, Ritzmann RE, Quinn RD (2013) A model of exploration and goal-searching in the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis. Adapt Behav 21:404–420
Domenici P, Blagburn JM, Bacon JP (2011a) Animal escapology I: theoretical issues and emerging trends in escape trajectories. J Exp Biol 214:2463–2473
Domenici P, Blagburn JM, Bacon JP (2011b) Animal escapology II: escape trajectory case studies. J Exp Biol 214:2474–2494
Domenici P, Booth D, Blagburn JM, Bacon JP (2008) Cockroaches keep predators guessing by using preferred escape trajectories. Curr Biol 18:1792–1796
Dupuy F, Casas J, Body M, Lazzari CR (2011) Danger detection and escape behaviour in wood crickets. J Insect Physiol 57:865–871
Erickson JC, Herrera M, Bustamante M, Shingiro A, Bowen T (2015) Effective stimulus parameters for directed locomotion in Madagascar hissing cockroach biobot. PLoS One 10:e0134348
Florence TJ, Reiser MB (2015) Neuroscience: hot on the trail of temperature processing. Nature 519:296
Gillott C (2005) Sensory systems. Entomology. Plenum, New York, pp 373–403
Gunnarsson KF (2013) Using Madagascar hissing cockroaches as research subjects in behavior analysis. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Horridge A (2009) What does an insect see? J Exp Biol 212:2721–2729
Kerkut GA, Taylor B (1957) A temperature receptor in the tarsus of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. J Exp Biol 34:486–493
Le Bars D, Gozariu M, Cadden SW (2001) Animal models of nociception. Pharmacol Rev 53:597–652
Maliszewska J, Marciniak P, Kletkiewicz H, Wyszkowska J, Nowakowska A, Rogalska J (2018) Electromagnetic field exposure (50 Hz) impairs response to noxious heat in American cockroach. J Comp Physiol A 204:605–611
McGorry CA, Newman CN, Triblehorn JD (2014) Neural responses from the wind-sensitive interneuron population in four cockroach species. J Insect Physiol 66:59–70
Okada J, Toh Y (1998) Shade response in the escape behavior of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Zool Sci 15:831–835
Olsen AC, Triblehorn JD (2014) Neural responses from the filiform receptor neuron afferents of the wind-sensitive cercal system in three cockroach species. J Insect Physiol 68:76–86
Reinouts Van Haga, H., Mitchell, B. (1975) Temperature receptors on tarsi of the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans West. Nature 255, 225–226 https://doi.org/10.1038/255225a0
Robertson R, Kuhnert C, Dawson J (1996) Thermal avoidance during flight in the locust Locusta migratoria. J Exp Biol 199:1383–1393
Santer RD, Yamawaki Y, Rind FC, Simmons PJ (2005) Motor activity and trajectory control during escape jumping in the locust Locusta migratoria. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 191:965–975
Sayeed O, Benzer S (1996) Behavioral genetics of thermosensation and hygrosensation in drosophila. Proc Natl Acad Sci 93:6079–6084
Simpson BS, Ritzmann RE, Pollack AJ (1986) A comparison of the escape behaviors of the cockroaches Blaberus craniifer and Periplaneta americana. J Neurobiol 17:405–419
Stierle IE, Getman M, Comer CM (1994) Multisensory control of escape in the cockroach Periplaneta americana. J Comparative Physiol A: Neuroethol Sensory, Neural, Behav Physiol 174:1–11
Tauber E, Camhi J (1995) The wind-evoked escape behavior of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus: integration of behavioral elements. J Exp Biol 198:1895–1907
Tuthill JC, Wilson RI (2016) Mechanosensation and adaptive motor control in insects. Curr Biol 26:R1038
Van H, Reinouts HA, Mitchell BK (1975) Temperature receptors on tarsi of the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans West. Nature 255:225
Ye S, Leung V, Khan A, Baba Y, Comer CM (2003) The antennal system and cockroach evasive behavior. I Roles for visual and mechanosensory cues in the response. J Comparat Physiol A 189:89–96
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ou, J., Cleland, C.L. Escape Strategies of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) in Response to Looming and Localized Heat Stimuli. J Insect Behav 32, 315–323 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-019-09737-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-019-09737-6