Species-specific sound production in three ephippigerine bushcrickets

Area of Science:

• Bioacoustics
• Morphology
• Insect Communication

Background:

• Ephippigerine species produce songs through stridulation.
• The pars stridens, a comb-like structure, is involved in sound production.
• Understanding the relationship between morphology and song structure is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the songs of three Ephippigerine species: Ephippiger ephippiger, E. discoidalis, and E. perforatus.
• To investigate the role of individual teeth on the pars stridens in song production through manipulation experiments.
• To correlate bioacoustic findings with morphological data of the pars stridens.

Main Methods:

• Recording and analyzing songs of Ephippigerine species.
• Performing manipulation experiments by removing single teeth from the pars stridens.
• Conducting morphological measurements using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) photographs of the pars stridens.

Main Results:

• Songs of manipulated Ephippigerine species exhibited characteristic gaps in impulse structure.
• Bioacoustic and morphological analyses indicated that only the lateral part of the pars stridens is utilized during stridulation.
• The impulse interval pattern within syllables remained constant and correlated with the tooth spacing pattern on the pars stridens.

Conclusions:

• The lateral teeth of the pars stridens are essential for Ephippigerine song production.
• The specific pattern of tooth spacing directly influences the impulse interval pattern of the insect's song.
• This study establishes a clear link between the physical structure of the pars stridens and the acoustic properties of Ephippigerine songs.