Note: as of 9/07 this web site is undergoing a major update and revision. Please enjoy what is here now, and look for a new version in the not-too-distant future.
The overarching goal of our laboratory is to find out how insect auditory systems are able to acquire and process acoustic information to yield complex, adaptive behaviors. We are especially interested in the evolution of hearing in insects, and have chosen the very unusual praying mantis ear as a model system.
Many praying mantises have sensitive hearing. The auditory system is unusual—in fact, unique—because mantises have only a single ear, located in the center of their body.

Thus, the praying mantis is an ‘auditory cyclops.’
The following review papers can provide a general overview:

Yager, D.D. (1999) Structure, development, and evolution of insect auditory systems. Microscopy Res. Tech. 47: 380-400.

Yager, D.D. and May, M. (1993) Coming in on a wing and an ear. Natural History 102: 28-33.

Yager, D. D. (1999) Sensory processes: Hearing. In: The Praying Mantids: Research Perspectives. (Prete, F.R., Wells, H. and Wells, P.H., eds.) Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Contact Information: Dr. David D. Yager
Department of Psychology University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742

ddyager@umd.edu