Opponent-flipping tactics in aggressive interactions of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

Male crickets engage in intense aggressive behavior, competing for resources. In this study, we focus on the quick movements during tactile combat in the cricket fight, to understand how they defeat the opponents. We performed kinematic analysis following high-speed cam recording of the fight. High-speed cam recordings showed that the attacker jumped to the head of the attacked cricket and thrusted it backwards. The attacked cricket was sometimes flipped over and tended to retreat. To understand how the attacker jumps effectively to flip over the opponent, we compared the attack-jump and escape-jump. The kinematics analysis demonstrated that the attack motion is different from the jump in the case of escaping from threats. The attacker cricket adjusted the direction of its body using its forelegs. The mandibles were used to hook onto the head of the attacked cricket. The attacked cricket moved its hindlegs with different kinematics to jump in the case of escape and exerted greater velocity. These findings advance our knowledge of how animals utilize their body depending on the situation.