EFFECT OF MALE-DEPRIVATION ON FEMALE PHONOTAXIS IN FIELD CRICKETS (ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLIDAE; GRYLLUS)

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Abstract
The effect of depriving female field crickets of conspecific male contact upon the frequency of phonotaxic response to conspecific mating song was tested in Gryllus integer Scudder and G. veletis Alexander and Bigelow (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). In both species, positive phonotaxis was 5 to 9 times more frequent in male-deprived females than in females kept with males. Increased phonotaxis in the former group was apparent with 3 days separation. Addition of G. veletis males to the female-only culture greatly reduced subsequent phonotaxis. As female field crickets sometimes occur in male-free areas in the field, such increased phonotaxis may well be of adaptive importance.