Effects of Temperature, Humidity, and Age on Stridulatory Rates in Atlanticus spp. (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Decticinae)

In Atlanticus gibbosus Scudder the wing-cycle rate during stridulation is a linear function of temperature: ŷ = 1.35 T — 9.56 (T = °C; r2 = .99). In A. dorsalis (Burmeister) the tooth-strike rate during stridulation can be described approximately as either a linear or an exponential function of temperature: ŷ = 33.55 T — 268.32 (r2 = .96) or Ln ŷ = .065 T + 4.523 (r2 = .96). Humidity and aging had statistically significant but ecologically unimportant effects on stridulatory rates. In A. gibbosus the wing-cycle rate at low humidities (25±5% RH) was reduced to the extent expected from 0.7°C evaporative cooling. In A. dorsalis aging beyond ecological life expectancy caused an increase in tooth-strike rate and the occurrence of gaps in the tooth-strike sequence.