The Efficiency of Sound Production in Two Cricket Species, Gryllotalpa Australis and Teleogryllus Commodus (Orthoptera: Grylloidea)

1. Males of Gryllotalpa australis (Erichson) (Gryllotalpidae) and Teleogryllus commodus (Walter) (Gryllidae) produced their calling songs while confined in respirometers.

2. G. australis males used oxygen during calling at a mean rate of 4.637 ml O2 h−1, equivalent to 27.65 mW of metabolic energy, which was 13 times higher than the resting metabolic rate. T. commodus males used oxygen during calling at a rate of 0.728 ml O2 h−1, equivalent to 4.34 mW, which was four times the resting metabolic rate.

3. The sound field during calling by males represents a sound power output of 0.27 mW for G. australis and l.51 × l0.3 mW for T. commodus.

4. The efficiency of sound production was 1.05% for males of G. australis and 0.05% for males of T. commodus. Comparison with other insect species suggests that none is more than a few percent efficient in sound production.