Phylogenetic comparative analysis of stridulatory apparatus and calling songs of field cricket genus Gryllus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae)

Monday, November 14, 2022

8:48 AM – 9:00 AM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 221/222

Presenting Author(s)

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Carla M. de Loera

Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

Co-Author(s)

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David B. Weissman

California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco, California
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David Gray

California State University
Northridge, California
Hojun Song

Professor
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

The genus Gryllus in North America includes familiar field crickets that fill the soundscape of summer nights. There are about 35 recognized species in the U.S. which are externally very similar and can only be identified to species based on male calling songs. Crickets produce songs by rubbing their forewings against each other, and it is known that the differences in the shape of stridulatory apparatus could lead to differences in calling songs. Calling songs differ among species in terms of the number of chirps per second and pulses per chirp. However, it has not been fully investigated whether there is any correlation between the morphology of stridulatory apparatus and the parameters of male calling songs. In this presentation, we examine the evolution of the stridulatory apparatus and male calling song of the North American Gryllus in a phylogenetic framework.