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Species Recognition During Substrate-Borne Communication in Nezara viridula (L.) (Pentatomidae: Heteroptera)

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Abstract

The information code in the temporal and spectral characteristics of the substrate-borne communication signals produced by insects has been primarily studied in insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. In the present study we investigated which of the female calling song (FCS) parameters in Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) are essential for recognition by conspecific males. In playback experiments we measured male vibrational responsiveness to FCS signals varying in the durations of pulse trains and inter-pulse train intervals, repetition times, duty cycles, and dominant frequencies, and determined the preference range for each specific parameter. Males were able to distinguish songs of different temporal and frequency parameters and responded best to values characteristic of the song of conspecific females. Signal recognition is achieved on the basis of two temporal filters tuned to the durations of the pulse train and inter-pulse train interval. Males responded best to the dominant frequency characteristic of conspecific songs, which are tuned to the resonant properties of the herbaceous plants used for intraspecific signal transmission during communication.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to colleagues in Ljubljana for help in collecting insects and maintaining the laboratory colony. We are indebted to Dr. Jocelyn G. Millar (UCR) for critical reading of the manuscript and correcting grammatical mistakes. We thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions how to improve the text. This work was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (Research Programme P1-0255).

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  1. Department of Entomology, National Institute of Biology, Vecna pot 111, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Alenka Žunič, Meta Virant-Doberlet & Andrej Čokl

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  1. Alenka Žunič
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  2. Meta Virant-Doberlet
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  3. Andrej Čokl
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Correspondence to Alenka Žunič.

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Žunič, A., Virant-Doberlet, M. & Čokl, A. Species Recognition During Substrate-Borne Communication in Nezara viridula (L.) (Pentatomidae: Heteroptera). J Insect Behav 24, 468–487 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-011-9272-x

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