The contrast sensitivity function of the praying mantis Sphodromantis lineola.

ABSTRACT: The detection of visual motion and its direction is a fundamental task faced by several visual systems. The motion detection system of insects has been widely studied with the majority of studies focussing on flies and bees. Here we characterize the contrast sensitivity of motion detection in the praying mantis Sphodromantis lineola, an ambush predator that stays stationary for long periods of time while preying on fast-moving prey. In this, its visual behaviour differs from previously studied insects and we might therefore expect its motion detection system to differ from theirs. To investigate the sensitivity of the mantis we analyzed its optomotor response in response to drifting gratings with different contrasts and spatio-temporal frequencies. We find that the contrast sensitivity of

SUBMITTER: Nityananda V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4510923 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature