Auditory Sensitivity of an Acoustic Parasitoid (Emblemasoma sp., Sarcophagidae, Diptera) and the Calling Behavior of Potential Hosts

Abstract

Using field broadcasts of model male calling songs, we tested whether Tibicen pruinosa and T. chloromera (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) are candidate hosts for acoustic parasitoid flies. The model calling song of T. pruinosa attracted 90% of the flies (Sarcophagidae: Emblemasoma sp.; all larvapositing females) when broadcast simultaneously with the model T. chloromera song, a phonotactic bias reconfirmed in single song playbacks. In paired broadcasts of model T. pruinosa songs with different relative amplitudes (3 dB or 6 dB), significantly more flies were attracted to the more powerful song, a result consistent with the responses predicted by a model proposed by Forrest and Raspet [1994]. Using intracellular recordings and dye injections, we characterized the sensitivity of auditory units in sound-trapped flies. Intracellular recordings from six auditory units (5 interneurons, 1 afferent) revealed best sensitivity for frequencies near 3–4 kHz, matching the predominant spectral components of the calling songs of both species of cicada. Interestingly, although flies could be attracted to T. pruinosa broadcasts throughout the day, hourly censuses of singing males revealed that calling occurred exclusively at dusk. Furthermore, the duration of the dusk chorus in T. pruinosa was significantly shorter than the midday chorus of the less attractive song of T. chloromera. We propose that the tight temporal aggregation of the dusk chorus time could function to reduce risk from attracted parasitoids.