The mechanics of acoustic signal evolution in field crickets.

Field crickets (Family Gryllidae, Subfamily Gryllinae) typically produce tonal calls with carrier frequencies in the range 3-8 kHz. In this study, we explored the use of a finite element model (FEM) of the stridulatory apparatus of a field cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, based on experimental measurements of resonator geometry and mechanical properties, to predict the measured call carrier frequencies of eight other field cricket species, ranging between 3 and 7 kHz. The model allowed accurate predictions of carrier frequencies for all eight species to within a few hundred hertz from morphological measurements of their resonators.

A novel acoustic-vibratory multimodal duet.

The communication strategy of most crickets and bushcrickets typically consists of males broadcasting loud acoustic calling songs, while females perform phonotaxis, moving towards the source of the call. Males of the pseudophylline bushcricket species Onomarchus uninotatus produce an unusually low-pitched call, and we found that the immediate and most robust response of females to the male acoustic call was a bodily vibration, or tremulation, following each syllable of the call. We hypothesized that these bodily oscillations might send out a vibrational signal along the substrate on which the female stands, which males could use to localize her position.