Animals employ various strategies to defend themselves against predators. Our research focuses on the anti-predator defenses of invertebrates, including caterpillars, beetles, wasps, assassin bugs, praying mantises, and snails. We have used predator such as carabid beetles, braconid parasitoids, hunting wasps, orb-weaving spiders, praying mantises, toads, frogs, and fish to conduct our investigations.
Publication
Sugiura, S. (2026) Small prey fight back: post-capture defences shape prey–predator size relationships. Scientific Reports, 16: 7198.
Sugiura, S., Nakamori, D., Sakagami, K. & Takanashi, T. (2025) Sound production by hawkmoth larvae and pupae through abdominal spiracles. Journal of Experimental Biology, 228(23): jeb251346. [Almetric]
Sugiura, S. (2025) Pond frog as a predator of hornet workers: high tolerance to venomous stings. Ecosphere, 16(12): e70457. [Highlighted in Science, Science, New York Times, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. (2025) Effects of predator species and size on prey escape success through the digestive tract. Ecology and Evolution, 15(12): e72477. [Almetric]
Sugiura, S. & Urano, K. (2025) Pseudostingers as defensive weapons: male scoliid wasps counterattack frogs. Ecology, 106(10): e70213.
Sugiura, S. & Hayashi, M. (2025) Mimicry between adult rove beetles and assassin bug nymphs with unequal defenses: antagonistic or mutualistic? PeerJ, 13:e19942.
Tsujii, M. & Sugiura, S. (2025) Defensive and offensive behavioural interacions between shelter-building caterpillars and hunting wasps. Zoological Science, 42(5): 435–445.
Matsubara, S. & Sugiura, S. (2025) Suspended resting of caterpillars as an anti-predator strategy. Ecological Entomology, 50(1): 24–32.
Sugiura, S. & Hayashi, M. (2025) Invasive predators can alter mimetic interactions between native insects. Biological Invasions, 27: 48.
Sugiura, S. & Hayashi, M. (2024) Defenses of whirligig beetles against native and invasive frogs. PeerJ, 12: e17214. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Hayashi, M. (2023) Bombardiers and assassins: mimetic interactions between unequally defended insects. PeerJ, 11: e15380. [Altmetric]
Okai, K. & Sugiura, S. (2023) Death feigning in adult diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 26(2): 102082.
Sugiura, S. & Tsujii, M. (2022) Male wasp genitalia as an anti-predator defense. Current Biology, 32(24): R1336–R1337. [Highlighted in Science, Science, Scientific American, New Scientist, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Date, T. (2022) Bombardier beetles repel invasive bullfrogs. PeerJ, 10:e13805. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. (2021) Beetle bombing always deters praying mantises. PeerJ, 9: e11657. [Altmetric]
Matsubara, S. & Sugiura, S. (2021) Effects of host plant growth form on dropping behaviour in leaf beetles. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 132(3): 539–551.
Hayashi, M. & Sugiura, S. (2021) Active behaviour of terrestrial caterpillars on the water surface. PeerJ, 9: e11981. [Highlighted in Science, etc.; Altmetric]
Hayashi, M. & Sugiura, S. (2021) Shell-breaking predation on gastropods by Badister pictus (Coleoptera, Carabidae) with strikingly asymmetric mandibles. ZooKeys, 1044: 815-830.
Sugiura, S. (2020) Active escape of prey from predator vent via the digestive tract. Current Biology, 30(15): R867–R868. [Highlighted in Nature Index, Nature, CNN, The Guardian, Science News, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. (2020) Predators as drivers of insect defenses. Entomological Science, 23(3): 316– 337 (invited review). [Highlighted in New York Times, etc.]
Hayashi, M & Sugiura, S. (2020) Climbing rice plants above the waterline: escape of freshwater snails from underwater predation by snail-eating specialists. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130(4): 751–755. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S., Takanashi, T., Kojima, W. & Kajiura, Z. (2020) Squeaking caterpillars: independent evolution of sonic defense in wild silkmoths. Ecology, 101(10): e03112. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S., Sakagami, K., Harada, M. & Shimada, N. (2019) Can praying mantises escape from spider webs? Ecology, 100(11): e02799. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. (2018) Anti-predator defences of a bombardier beetle: is bombing essential for successful escape from frogs? PeerJ, 6:e5942. [Highlighted in New York Times, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Sato, T. (2018) Successful escape of bombardier beetles from predator digestive systems. Biology Letters, 14: 20170647. [Highlighted in National Geographic, Science, Nature, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Takanashi, T. (2018) Hornworm counterattacks: Defensive strikes and sound production in response to invertebrate attackers. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 123: 496–505. [Highlighted in Science, etc.; Altmetric]
Sugiura S (2016) Bagworm bags as portable armour against invertebrate predators. PeerJ, 4: e1686.
Kageyama, A. & Sugiura, S. (2016) Caterpillar hairs as an anti-parasitoid defence. The Science of Nature – Naturwissenschaften, 103:86. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Yamazaki, K. (2014) Caterpillar hair as a physical barrier against invertebrate predators. Behavioral Ecology, 25:975–983. [Altmetric]
Sugiura, S. & Yamazaki, K. (2006) The role of silk threads as a lifeline in caterpillars: pattern and significance of lifeline climbing behaviour. Ecological Entomology, 31 (1): 52-57. [Highlighted in American Entomologist]