Therefore, we presented the different prey types in front of mantises by mechanically moving them at a constant speed to elicit mantis strikes. The praying mantis visually detects prey and captures it with its forelegs (Roeder 1960 Yamawaki 2017) and their rate of attack is a good indicator of their feeding decisions. Therefore, it is likely that bees are visually more detectable and stimulating for mantises. Indeed, our choice is based on the fact that bees are referenced as an aposematic species in contrast to mealworms (Cott 1940). By selecting natural prey, we used the following three species: crickets as familiar prey mealworms as novel prey and bees as conspicuously novel prey. Using praying mantises ( Tenodera aridifolia) as an example of a sit-and-wait predator, in the present study we tested their avoidance learning for natural conspicuous and for novel prey. Therefore, sit-and-wait predators seem to exhibit distinct behaviours and cognitive processes compared to active foragers, yet relatively little is known about these processes (but see Prudic et al. An example of this strategy is seen with wolf spiders ( Schizocosa sp.) which catch both palatable (fruitflies) and unpalatable (fungus gnats) prey when they are offered alternately, and release unpalatable prey (Toft and Wise 1999). For sit-and-wait predators that do not capture prey in a web, because of the uncertainty of encountering palatable prey, the most efficient strategy might be to catch every available prey and then decide whether to ingest or not (Malcolm 1986 Toft and Wise 1999). In this case, the probability of finding and catching a prey mostly depends on the movement of the prey and not on that of the predator. Anderson and Karasov 1981), although they also switch to sites where prey are abundant (Morse 1986). In contrast, sit-and-wait predators do not invest much time and energy in searching for prey (e.g. Our results highlight the fact that the mantises might maintain a selection pressure on bees, and perhaps on aposematic species in general. Surprisingly, we found that the bitter bees were totally rejected after an attack whereas bitter mealworms were partially eaten (~35%). coloration in bees) facilitate avoidance learning in active foraging predators. This contrasts with the fact that conspicuous signals (e.g. However, they reduced their attacks on bitter mealworms more than on bitter bees. When the prey were made bitter, the mantises still continued to attack bitter crickets as expected. In the absence of bitterness, the mantises consumed bees and crickets more frequently than mealworms. We sequentially presented the prey species in pairs and made one of them artificially bitter. To examine the effects of conspicuousness and novelty of prey on avoidance learning, we used three different prey species: mealworms (novel prey), honeybees (novel prey with conspicuous signals) and crickets (familiar prey). In the present study, we investigated avoidance learning in a sit-and-wait predator, the praying mantis ( Tenodera aridifolia). However, it has been suggested that sit-and-wait predators might rely on the opportunity that palatable prey approach them by chance: the most efficient strategy could be to catch every available prey and then decide whether to ingest them or not. Associations are important for active foraging predators to avoid unpalatable prey and to invest energy in searching for palatable prey only. Animals learn to associate sensory cues with the palatability of food in order to avoid bitterness in food (a common sign of toxicity).
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