@article {58462, title = {The calling songs of male spring field crickets (Gryllus veletis) change as males age}, volume = {148}, year = {2011}, month = {Jan-01-2011}, pages = {1045-1065}, abstract = {

Sexual traits are typically thought to convey information about a male\&$\#$39;s quality or condition. Female preference for older males has been documented in many taxa, but the evidence that males signal their age is inconclusive. We investigated lifetime patterns of acoustic mate attraction signalling in a longitudinal study of the spring field cricket, Gryllus veletis. We recorded males continuously throughout their lives, such that every pulse of sound produced by every male was analyzed. Our study answers two main questions: (1) Do calls change as males age? Our results reveal that the calls of male spring field crickets change with age; the calls of older males were quieter, with more silent periods within and between chirps, and produced less often than those of younger males. As males aged most of the changes in call structure reflect decreased calling effort. (2) What is the relationship between calling effort and longevity? Lifetime calling effort was positively related to longevity, such that males that called the most over their life also lived longer than males that called less. Together, our findings provide the most thorough exploration of lifetime signalling patterns in crickets to date.

}, issn = {0005-7959, 1568-539X}, doi = {10.1163/000579511x588812}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/000579511x588812}, author = {Bertram, Susan M. and Fitzsimmons, Lauren P.} } @article {17213, title = {The neuromuscular mechanism of stridulation in crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae).}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Biology}, volume = {45}, year = {1966}, month = {1966 Aug}, pages = {151-64}, abstract = {

Study of the insect neuromuscular system appears very promising as a means of
explaining behaviour in terms of cellular operation. The relatively small number of
neurons, the ganglionic nature of the nervous system, the simplicity of the neuro-
muscular arrangement, and the repetitiveness of behavioural sequences all lend them-
selves to a solution of this problem. As a result, an increasing number of investigators
have been turning their attention to insects and especially to the large orthopterans.
Recently, Ewing \& Hoyle (1965) and Huber (1965) reported on muscle activity
underlying sound production in crickets. The acoustic behaviour is well understood
(Alexander, 1961) and in the genera Gryllus, Acheta and Gryllodes communication is
mediated by three basic songs composed of three types of pulses. While working
independently on this system at the University of Cologne (W.K.) and the University
of Michigan (D.B.) using various Gryllus species, we found a number of basic
differences between the muscle activity in our crickets and that reported by Ewing
\& Hoyle (1965) for Acheta domesticus. These two genera, Gryllus and Acheta, are so
nearly identical that they are distinguished solely by differences in the male genitalia
(Chopard, 1961). The present paper constitutes a survey of muscle activity patterns
producing stridulation in four species of field crickets. Since the work of the two
authors was carried out independently, non-overlapping experiments will be initialled
to indicate the investigator.

}, keywords = {Animals, Electrophysiology, insects, muscles, neuromuscular junction, sound}, issn = {0022-0949}, author = {Bentley, D R and Kutsch, W} } @article {16954, title = {Singing Crickets and Periodical Cicadas}, journal = {Research News, Office of Research Administration, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor}, volume = {XIV}, year = {1963}, author = {Anon} }