Circadian rhythm in locomotor activity of the common house centipede, Thereuonema tuberculata (Scutigeromorha: Scutigeridae)

Abstract

― The locomotor activity rhythm of Thereuonema tuberculata was investigated under laboratory conditions. Under a light-dark cycle, locomotion was initiated ca. 1 hour after the dark phase began and the peak activity period occurred in the first half of the dark phase. The locomotor activity persisted in continuous darkness and continuous light and was well-entrained to a skeleton photoperiod. Thus, the locomotor activity is controlled by an endogenous pacemaker and is entrained by the transitions between light and dark phases. .