On inheritance of calling song characteristics in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

Abstract

Singing crickets are an appropriate object for analyzing genetic aspects of acoustic communication in insects. The calling song (CS) of male crickets, specifically, Gryllus bimaculatus, is a sequence of chirps consisting of 3–5 pulses. The average values of parameters used by females to identify conspecific males—pulse repetition period, number of pulses per chirp, chirp repetition period—are different for various geographic populations of crickets. In particular, populations of Gryllus bimaculatus from the south-eastern part of its distribution area, as compared to the Mediterranean population, are characterized by a longer chirp repetition period, greater number of pulses per chirp and shorter pulse repetition period [1]. These differences are genetically determined because they are retained in laboratory colonies of these populations under controlled conditions. In the present work, the rules of inheritance of the calling song parameters in interpopulation hybrids of crickets Gryllus bimaculatus were investigated. Two laboratory cultures of these crickets were used: of South Asian origin (A) descending, presumably, from Indo-China, and of Israeli origin (I). Both cultures have been cultivated for several years at Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry. The calling songs of