Turkestan Cockroaches Avoid Entering a Static Electric Field upon Perceiving an Attractive Force Applied to Antennae Inserted into the Field.

ABSTRACT: This study analysed the mechanism of avoidance behaviour by adult Turkestan cockroaches (Shelfordella lateralis Walker) in response to a static electric field (S-EF) formed in the space between a negatively charged polyvinyl chloride-insulated iron plate (N-PIP) and a grounded metal net (G-MN). The negative surface charge supplied to the iron plate by a voltage generator caused the G-MN to polarise positively via electrostatic induction. In the S-EF, the negative charge of the N-PIP created a repulsive force that pushed free electrons in the field toward the ground via the G-MN. When insects released in the space surrounded by the S-EF inserted their antennae into the S-EF, they pulled them back reflexively and moved backward. The analysis indicated that an electric current flowed transien

SUBMITTER: Matsuda Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8303521 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature