蟷螂の交尾動作とその中樞の所在に就いて(豫報)

概要

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The males of the mantis Tenodera aridifolia STOLL., commonly found in the main island of Japan, are occasionally eaten by the females. We performed several experiments to find out if the males are still capable of copulation even after their heads or heads and prothoraces together have been devored by the females. It was found that both the killing of the head either by cutting or crushing or dipping into melted paraffin and an incision passed between the first and second thoracic ganglia can intitiate copulatory acts. The presence or absence of the female does not make any difference. From this it can be said that the copulatory center resides either in the second or in the third or in both, and the removal of the head and the first ganglion sets up the mechanism of copulatory acts. That this peculiarity is adaptive for the species can not be doubted in view of the fact that the male is often eaten up by the female while approaching its mate or even during copulation. It is also interesting to note that the female deprived of her head can deposit eggs in a quite normal manner. The center of oviposition seems therefore to be in some thoracic ganglia and not in the brain.
社団法人日本動物学会の論文
1927-03-15