... of the total tool length, to compare the performance between tools. However, this may not always be biologically relevant to the question being asked. To understand how definitions of penetration depth may influence comparative results, we performed puncture experiments on a series of venomous snake fangs...

... is a locomotory command center called the central complex (CX). In the present study, we employ, for the first time, chronic recordings of patterned cockroach CX activity in real time as the brain is infused with wasp venom. CX envenomation is followed by sequential changes in the pattern of neuronal firing...

... of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the venom. In insects, dopamine receptors are classified as two families, the D1-like and the D2-like receptors. However, specific roles played by dopamine receptor subtypes in venom-induced behavioral manipulation by the jewel wasp remain largely unknown. In the present study, we used...

...Ignazio Avella; Edgar Barajas-Ledesma; Nicholas R. Casewell; Robert A. Harrison; Paul D. Rowley; Edouard Crittenden; Wolfgang Wüster; Riccardo Castiglia; Chris Holland; Arie van der Meijden ABSTRACT Venom spitting is a defence mechanism based on airborne venom delivery used by a number of different...

... of the A. compressa venom on the regulation of spontaneous and evoked behaviour in the cockroach host. These and other experiments indicate that the hypokinetic state is specific to walking-related behaviours. But does the venom completely prevent the initiation of walking or does it elevate the threshold...

...Jeremy J. Wright SUMMARY Piscine venom glands have implicitly been assumed to be anti-predatory adaptations, but direct examinations of the potential fitness benefits provided by these structures are relatively sparse. In previous experiments examining this question, alternative phenotypes have...

...Bruce A. Young; Karen Dunlap; Kristen Koenig; Meredith Singer SUMMARY Multiple radiations of Asiatic and African cobras have independently evolved the ability to expel their venom as a pressurized horizontal stream, a behavior commonly referred to as spitting. Though the unique fang morphology...

... almost continuously for approximately 30 min, performing all the normal components of grooming behavior. This excessive grooming is only seen after the head sting and cannot be attributed to stress, to contamination of the body surface or to systemic or peripheral effects. This suggests that the venom...