Mate Attraction & Sound
Insects use a wide variety of methods to attract mates, from chemical secretions, visual colours and patterns, to the hunger level of the female praying mantis. One interesting method being; mate attraction through the use of sound [7]. Crickets and cicadas both use sound to attract mates, although their calls and methods are incredibly different. In both the species the female is silent, and reacts to the call of the male [7].
The creation of sound waves across long distances seems difficult, although the cricket and cicada do it with ease, particularly for their small size. This is due to many adaptations that have occurred through time, to attract maximum mates and deter any other males from these mates [1]. Different parasites have learnt to mimic mating calls of different insect species, luring females in as prey, however through evolution individuals can even identify the difference between this mimic and a true mate. This variance can be identified due to the use of species-specific calls [13].
Even though sound mate attraction is common across all species of crickets and cicadas, each call is species specific, and can therefore be recognized individually. These calls have undergone strong convergent evolution, making them homoplasious, although distantly related species’ call structures are more similar than those species that are closer related [7]. This finding indicates that evolution may have occurred separately for the morphological features that generate the species song, as well as the nervous system that regulates the structure of the call. Perhaps with the morphological features remaining the same, due to their effectiveness, and the nervous system being able to be plastic and dependent on the selection of specific species [5].
Although crickets and cicadas both use sound for mate attraction, they do so in very different ways. Cicadas use a method called Tymbal, involving their specialized body cavity which contracts a space and vibrates specialized internal ribs, therefore generating sound, creating their specific mating call [7]. Stridulation is the sound method used by crickets, which occurs via the development of specialized body parts, particularly their hind legs, to produce a chirping sound [9].
The creation of sound waves across long distances seems difficult, although the cricket and cicada do it with ease, particularly for their small size. This is due to many adaptations that have occurred through time, to attract maximum mates and deter any other males from these mates [1]. Different parasites have learnt to mimic mating calls of different insect species, luring females in as prey, however through evolution individuals can even identify the difference between this mimic and a true mate. This variance can be identified due to the use of species-specific calls [13].
Even though sound mate attraction is common across all species of crickets and cicadas, each call is species specific, and can therefore be recognized individually. These calls have undergone strong convergent evolution, making them homoplasious, although distantly related species’ call structures are more similar than those species that are closer related [7]. This finding indicates that evolution may have occurred separately for the morphological features that generate the species song, as well as the nervous system that regulates the structure of the call. Perhaps with the morphological features remaining the same, due to their effectiveness, and the nervous system being able to be plastic and dependent on the selection of specific species [5].
Although crickets and cicadas both use sound for mate attraction, they do so in very different ways. Cicadas use a method called Tymbal, involving their specialized body cavity which contracts a space and vibrates specialized internal ribs, therefore generating sound, creating their specific mating call [7]. Stridulation is the sound method used by crickets, which occurs via the development of specialized body parts, particularly their hind legs, to produce a chirping sound [9].