Nightly and hourly rates of attraction of flying field crickets, Gryllus integer, to conspecific song

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2540-2542 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Cricket Song ◽  
Gryllus Integer

Nightly and hourly rates of attraction of flying field crickets, Gryllus integer, to conspecific calling song were studied in an arena placed in the natural habitat of the species in central Texas. Calling of male G. integer in the arena and tape-recorded broadcasts of conspecific song were the sources of cricket song that subsequently attracted flying crickets. Observations were conducted for 10 h from approximately 1.5–2 h past sunset to 3 h past sunrise for 97 nights in 1983 and 1985–1988, using calling males, and for 4 nights in 1988, using taped song. The number of crickets attracted each night varied greatly, significantly more females were attracted, the numbers of males and females attracted decreased near sunrise, and significantly more crickets entered the arena from 2 to 6 h than from 7 to 11 h past sunset. Results are discussed in the context of mating behavior and sexual selection in this and other species.

Temporal patterns of parasitoid fly (Ormia ochracea) attraction to field cricket song (Gryllus integer)

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade ◽  
Mark Ciceran ◽  
Anne-Marie Murray
Keyword(s):  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Ormia Ochracea ◽  
The Hours ◽  
Cricket Song ◽  
Temporal Rate ◽  
Gryllus Integer ◽  
Male Cricket

Female flies, Ormia ochracea (Diptera, Tachinidae), orient to the calling song of the field cricket Gryllus integer (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) and deposit larvae that burrow into and consume the cricket host. Selection pressure from O. ochracea has probably been important in the evolution of male cricket songs and mating behaviour in G. integer and other cricket species. Tape-recorded G. integer calling song was broadcast to study the temporal rate of attraction of O. ochracea. Flies became phonotactic to cricket song approximately at sunset, and the highest level of attraction was observed in the following hours of the evening. Fly phonotaxis decreased in the hours immediately preceding sunrise and no flies were attracted during daylight hours. More male G. integer call at sunrise and in the preceding hours than earlier in the evening, perhaps in response to the lower probability of attracting O. ochracea.

Geographic variation in hybrid fertility in the field crickets Gryllus integer, G. rubens, and Gryllus sp.

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2697-2700 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade ◽  
Michael G. Tyshenko
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Reciprocal Crosses ◽  
Very Low Frequency ◽  
Hybrid Fertility ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Gryllus Integer

Hybridization was attempted between three geographically separated field cricket populations having males that produce distinct songs. Gryllus integer from central Texas and G. rubens from Arkansas produced many offspring in both reciprocal crosses. Gryllus sp. from New Mexico also produced hybrid offspring in matings with G. integer and G. rubens but at a very low frequency and only in crosses where the female was Gryllus sp. In previous experiments, G. integer from California was unable to hybridize with G. integer from Texas and G. rubens.

Effects of fly parasitoids on nightly calling duration in field crickets

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade
Keyword(s):  
No Reduction ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Fly Larvae ◽  
Gryllus Integer ◽  
Host Effects

The song of male field crickets, Gryllus integer (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), attracts flies, Euphasiopteryx ochracea (Diptera; Tachinidae). Flies deposit larvae on male crickets and the larvae burrow in and consume the host. Effects of fly parasitism on duration of calling in G. integer were studied. Male crickets were collected at street lights and placed in jars and were electrically monitored for calling song. Calling duration was measured for 7 nights. Fly larvae were then placed on males and calling duration was measured for an additional 7 nights. In two replicates, males called significantly less following parasitism, and average calling duration declined gradually before death. Other males which remained free of fly larvae showed no reduction in calling. Field-collected males which subsequently died from fly parasitism called significantly less than non-parasitized males. Acoustically orienting flies reduce the ability of parasitized males to attract females acoustically.

Relative fertility in hybridization experiments using three song types of the held crickets Gryllus integer and Gryllus rubens

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 2390-2394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia J. Smith ◽  
William H. Cade
Keyword(s):  
Variable Number ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Reproductive Incompatibility ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Gryllus Rubens ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Gryllus Integer ◽  
Relative Fertility

Species-specific calling songs of male field crickets attract conspecific females. Each wing closure results in a pulse of sound, and the song is composed of pulses arranged in species-specific patterns of short chirps, long continuous trills, or intermediates between chirps and trills. California Gryllus integer has a song with pulses of sound delivered in groups of two or three to produce a chirp, but in central Texas, the G. integer song has a variable number of pulses delivered in long continuous trills. Gryllus rubens occurs from eastern Texas to Florida and has a trilling song with a slower pulse rate than that of Texas G. integer. Identification of these three groups in the laboratory was confirmed by recording and analyzing songs for California and Texas G. integer and G. rubens males. All possible crosses were performed in the laboratory between conspecifics and heterospecifics. No progeny resulted in California G. integer and Texas G. integer or California G. integer and G. rubens crosses. Hybrids were produced in G. rubens and Texas G. integer crosses. Results suggest that California and Texas G. integer are different species, or at least populations geographically separated enough to result in reproductive incompatibility and different song types. Texas G. integer and G. rubens are apparently closely related species.

Factors that possibly influence variation in the calling song of field crickets: temperature, time, and male size, age, and wing morphology

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 950-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantine Souroukis ◽  
William H. Cade ◽  
Gareth Rowell
Keyword(s):  
Hind Wing ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Wing Dimorphism ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Gryllus Integer ◽  
Temperature Time

The structure of the calling song of the Texas field cricket, Gryllus integer, was studied. Pulse rates, percentage of missed pulses within a trill, numbers of pulses per trill or trill lengths, and intertrill intervals were measured for males singing in the field and in the laboratory. All song parameters were variable and were distributed normally. Intertrill intervals were longer in the laboratory, but all other parameters were similar in laboratory and field populations. Pulse rates varied in a linear fashion with ambient temperature in the laboratory and field. The percentage of missed pulses in a trill decreased with increasing temperature in the field and in the laboratory; intertrill intervals varied inversely with temperature only in the field. In field populations, immediately before and after sunrise male songs had fewer pulses per trill and a greater frequency of missed pulses than songs produced for a few hours following sunset. Song structure did not vary with age, weight, or hind-wing dimorphism. Most song parameters were correlated with each other. The data are discussed in terms of female choice and attraction to male song, male competition by way of acoustical interaction, and underlying genetic variation in G. integer.

Reproductive behavior

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Olzer ◽  
Rebecca L. Ehrlich ◽  
Justa L. Heinen-Kay ◽  
Jessie Tanner ◽  
Marlene Zuk
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Insect Behavior ◽  
Sequential Approach ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Males And Females

Sex and reproduction lie at the heart of studies of insect behavior. We begin by providing a brief overview of insect anatomy and physiology, followed by an introduction to the overarching themes of parental investment, sexual selection, and mating systems. We then take a sequential approach to illustrate the diversity of phenomena and concepts behind insect reproductive behavior from pre-copulatory mate signalling through copulatory sperm transfer, mating positions, and sexual conflict, to post-copulatory sperm competition, and cryptic female choice. We provide an overview of the evolutionary mechanisms driving reproductive behavior. These events are linked by the economic defendability of mates or resources, and how these are allocated in each sex. Under the framework of economic defendability, the reader can better understand how sexual antagonistic behaviors arise as the result of competing optimal fitness strategies between males and females.

scholarly journals A LIFE-HISTORY PERSPECTIVE ON SEXUAL SELECTION IN A POLYGAMOUS SPECIES

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gao Ke ◽  
Michiel van Wijk ◽  
Zoe Clement ◽  
Martijn Egas ◽  
Astrid Groot
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Life History ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Quadratic Model ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Bateman Gradient ◽  
Multiple Matings ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Background Ever since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have studied sexual selection driving differences in appearance and behaviour between males and females. An unchallenged paradigm in such studies is that one sex (usually the male) signals its quality as a mate to the other sex (usually the female), who is choosy in accepting a partner. Here, we argue that in polygamous species these roles may change dynamically with the mating status of males and females, depending on direct reproductive costs and benefits of multiple matings, and on sperm competition. We test this hypothesis using a polygamous moth species, as in moths not males but females are the signalers and males are the responders. Results We found that multiple matings are beneficial as well as costly for both sexes. Specifically, the number of matings did not affect the longevity of males or females, but when paired with a new virgin mate every night for five nights, only 67% of the males and 14% of the females mated successfully in all five nights. The female’s reproductive output increased with multiple matings, although when paired with a new virgin male every night, additional matings beyond 3 decreased her reproductive output, so that the Bateman gradient for females fit a quadratic model better than a linear model. The male’s reproductive success was positively affected by the number of matings and a linear regression line best fit the data. Simulations of the effect of sperm competition showed that increasing last-male paternity increases the steepness of the male Bateman gradient and thus the male’s relative fitness gain from additional mating. Irrespective of last-male paternity value, the female Bateman gradient is steeper than the male one for up to three matings. Conclusion Our results suggest that choosiness in moths may well change throughout the mating season, with males being more choosy early in the season and females being more choosy after having mated at least three times. This life-history perspective on the costs and benefits of multiple matings for both sexes sheds new light on sexual selection forces acting on sexual signals and responses.

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