The neuromuscular mechanism of stridulation in crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae).

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.