Acoustic behavior of Metaleptea adspersa (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

The sounds produced by Metaleptea adspersa (Blanchard 1843) were recorded in captivity with an analogical tape recorder. The signal was digitized in the laboratory and studied with a software. Three types of sound were described: copulation, rivalry, and crepitation. All three sounds were produced only by males. The frequency of the sounds occupied a broadband, from 3–4 to 16 kHz, although the main peak frequency for each type of song differed. We also studied the structures involved in sound production. Copulation and rivalry songs were produced by the rubbing of the subcostal, radial, medial, and cubital 1 veins of the hind wing against the subcostal and radial veins of the tegmen; the enlarged cubital area of the hind wing acted as a resonator. Crepitation sound was produced by the cubital area of hind wing when its expanded membrane became taut.