01733nas a2200169 4500008004100000245013900041210006900180520110400249653002701353653003301380653001201413653001501425653001801440100002801458700002601486856005101512 1998 eng d00aBushcricket song structure and predation by the acoustically orienting parasitoid fly Therobia leonidei (Diptera: Tachinidae: Ormiini)0 aBushcricket song structure and predation by the acoustically ori3 a
Males of most bushcricket species produce acoustic advertisement signals to attract females for mating. These signals can also increase conspicuousness to predators. In the genus Poecilimon (Orthoptera: Phaneropterinae) males are attacked by the parasitoid fly Therobia leonidei (Diptera: Tachinidae: Ormiini) which locates males by their calls. In Greece T.leonidei parasitizes several Poecilimon species with different song structures: we examined whether host choice is related to song structure by comparing parasitism rates in two closely related Poecilimon species. One of these species produces monosyllabic songs, the songs of the other species being polysyllabic. The tachinid fly parasitized the polysyllabic species to a greater extent. We demonstrate in a field-experiment that this preference for the polysyllabic species does not depend on local adaptations of the fly. The most probable explanation for the preference of the fly for the polysyllabic singing species seems to be better detection of longer songs. This result is discussed in the context of male song evolution.
10aacoustic communication10aHost-parasitoid relationship10aOrmiini10aOrthoptera10aTettigonoidea1 aLehmann, Gerlind, U. C.1 aHELLER, KLAUS-GERHARD uhttp://link.springer.com/10.1007/s002650050488