Proprioception In Insects

Abstract

The campaniform sensilla on the legs of Periplaneta are similar in action to those on the palps, and respond to strains in the cuticle. They are arranged in groups at the joints, with parallel orientation of the sensilla of a group. Tests with various chemical substances show a complete absence of sensitivity to olfactory stimuli. A theory is given of the mode of action of the sensilla in terms of a mechanical model based on their observed structure. Each group of parallel sensilla should act as a unit, responding to those forces which have a compression component of shear in the direction of their long diameters. This theory makes it possible to predict the behaviour of the sensilla from their anatomical arrangement. Most if not all the groups on the legs are so arranged as to be sensitive to the forces present when the insect is standing on the ground. The sensilla probably provide the basis for the sense of contact pressure postulated by Holst (1935), Hoffmann (1933), Crozier & Stier (1928-9), Fraenkel (1932) and others. Comparison of this proprioceptive mechanism with that of the vertebrate limb reveals an absence of qualitative sensitivity that may have an important bearing on the question of the evolution of behaviour.