Tactile Sensing During Backward Locomotion in the Mole Cricket

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Biomechanics
• Sensory Ecology

Background:

• Subterranean locomotion requires robust orientation and navigation in confined, visually limited spaces.
• Mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae) are adept tunnelers, making them an excellent model for studying mechanosensory control of movement.
• Backward walking is a key behavior in mole crickets, necessitating effective sensory feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of tactile input from antennae and cerci in supporting mole cricket backward locomotion.
• To test the hypothesis that backward walking involves adaptive changes in mechanosensory sampling strategies.

Main Methods:

• High-speed video recording of adult *Gryllotalpa tali* walking forward and backward in a narrow tunnel.
• Markerless pose tracking to quantify antennal and cercal movements, orientations, and wall contact.
• Analysis of sensory sampling behavior in relation to body and arena coordinates.

Main Results:

• Backward walking induced significant changes in tactile sampling: antennae extended posteriorly, increasing posterior tactile input.
• Cerci exhibited increased lateral movements, enhancing sensory coverage and posterior feedback during backward locomotion.
• Antennae showed more frequent wall contact during backward movement, suggesting active boundary monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Mole crickets dynamically adjust antennal and cercal mechanosensory sampling for efficient backward locomotion in tunnels.
• These adaptations likely enhance boundary detection, posture stabilization, and navigation within confined subterranean environments.
• The findings highlight the crucial role of tactile feedback in subterranean navigation and decision-making.