Abstract
The males of most species of the HawaiianDrosophila planitibia group produce songs when vibrating their wings during courtship. In four of the most recently evolved species,D. differens, D. planitibia, D. heteroneura, andD. silvestris, these songs are simple in structure and possess a higher and more variable carrier frequency than the songs of the more ancestral species of the group. In the present paper, we studied the variation in wing song production and song characters in aD. planitibia population. Some males vibrated their wings at a very low amplitude or slow speed, producing no detectable sound. Other males produced sound bursts varying in carrier frequency and burst length. The carrier frequency of the song depended mainly on the wing posture of the male during wing vibrations and was consistent for individual males. Variation between males of different isofemale progenies was not significant in any measured song trait. Songs of the males recorded in the present study differed, however, from songs of the males of a laboratory strain recorded earlier.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahern, J. N. (1980). Evolution of behavioral reproductive isolation in a laboratory stock ofDrosophila silvestris.Experientia 36: 63–64.
Arita, L. H., and Kaneshiro, K. Y. (1979). Ethological isolation between two stocks ofDrosophila adiastola Hardy.Proc. Hawaii. Entomol. Soc. 23: 31–34.
Bennet-Clark, H. C. (1984). A particle-velocity microphone for the song of small insects and other acoustic measurements.J. Exp. Biol. 108: 459–463.
Boake, C. R. B., and Hoikkala, A. (1995). Courtship behavior and mating success of wild-caughtDrosophila silvestris males.Anim. Behav. 49: 1303–1313.
Carson, H. L., and Bryant, P. J. (1979). Change in a secondary sexual character as evidence of incipient speciation inDrosophila silvestris.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76: 1929–1932.
Hardy, D. E., and Kaneshiro, K. Y. (1981). Drosophilidae of Pacific Oceania. In Ashburner, M., Carson, H. L., and Thompson, J. N., Jr. (eds.),The Genetics and Biology of Drosophila, Vol. 3a, Academic Press, London, pp. 309–348.
Hoikkala, A., and Welbergen, Ph. (1995). Signals and responses of females and males in successful and unsuccessful courtships of three Hawaiian lek-matingDrosophila species.Anim. Behav. 50: 177–190.
Hoikkala, A., Kaneshiro, K. Y., and Hoy, R. R. (1994). Courtship songs of the picture-wingedDrosophila planitibia subgroup species.Anim. Behav. 47: 1363–1374.
Kaneshiro, K. Y. (1976). Ethological isolation and phylogeny of theplanitibia subgroup of HawaiianDrosophila.Evolution 30: 740–745.
Kaneshiro, K. Y., Gillespie, R. G., and Carson, H. L. (1995). Chromosomes and male genitalia of HawaiianDrosophila: Tools for interpreting phylogeny and geography. In Wagner, W. L., and Funk, V. A. (eds.),Hawaiian Biogeography: Evolution on a Hot Spot Archipelago, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, pp. 57–71.
Spiess, E. B., and Carson, H. L. (1981). Sexual selection inDrosophila silvestris of Hawaii.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78: 3088–3092.
Spieth, H. T. (1978). Courtship patterns and evolution of theDrosophila adiastola andplanitibia species subgroups.Evolution 32: 435–451.
Wheeler, D. A., Fields, W. L., and Hall, J. C. (1988). Spectral analysis ofDrosophila courtship songs:D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and their interspecific hybrid.Behav. Genet. 18: 675–703.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoikkala, A., Kaneshiro, K.Y. Variation in male wing song characters inDrosophila plantibia (Hawaiian picture-wingedDrosophila group). J Insect Behav 10, 425–436 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02765608
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02765608