Orientation of Southern Mole Cricket, Scapteriscus acletus, Landing at a Sound Source

Mole crickets, Scapteriscus acletus, attracted to a synthetic male calling song, can use visual cues as they end their flight. The insects landed significantly (P<0.001) more often on stripes than on a contrasting background. The visual form of the stimulus was more important in attracting mole crickets than the contour (perigrammotaxis) or the low reflectance (scototaxis) of the patterns. In windy weather the proportion of crickets landing on top of the sound source is less.