Cues for male phonotaxis in the duetting bushcricketLeptophyes punctatissima

Abstract

A computer controlled setup is introduced which allows the song analysis of both male and femaleLeptophyes punctatissima during duetting in a laboratory situation. The essential acoustical parameters for the initiation of the male's phonotactic approach towards the stationary female are described. The female responds ‘reflex-like’ to the male song after a remarkably short delay time of about 28 ms. The male only performs phonotaxis if he perceives the female reply above an intensity value of about 50 dB SPL and if the female response falls within a critical ‘time window’ from 25 to a maximum of 55 ms after the onset of his song (Figs. 3 and 5). The sound intensity and overall time delay of the female response can be varied independently, so that the relationship between both parameters and their limitations for maximum phonotaxis distance can be described.