The femoral chordotonal organ of the stick insect Cuniculina impigra Redtenbacher (Phasmida) can be stimulated precisely by moving the receptor apodeme. Single sensory units in the sensory nerve are recorded using glass microelectrodes. The units are classified according to their sensitivity to (a) position, (b) position and velocity and (c) velocity. Nearly all transitional forms exist between the position and velocity receptors. Both elongation- and relaxation-sensitive receptors exist, and also units which are bi-directionally sensitive. Many position receptors have their maximum frequency at one of the extreme joint positions, but others have their maximum frequency near the middle position of the joint. Some velocity-sensitive units respond with equal sensitivity over the whole operating range of the joint, whereas other velocity receptors respond only in a part of the operating range, thus providing further evidence of rangefractionation.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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