Laboratory Hybridization Studies of Allonemobius fasciatus and A. socius (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

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Abstract
Allonemobius fasciatus (De Geer) and A. socius (Scudder) are small ground-dwelling crickets that meet and hybridize, to a limited extent, in a mosaic contact zone stretching from New Jersey to at least as far west as Illinois. To determine whether there is selection against hybridization, we compared heterospecific and hybrid crosses with conspecific crosses with regard to offspring production, viability, and development. Parental, F1, and F2 heterospecific and hybrid crosses produced considerable numbers of offspring, although some cross classes produced significantly fewer offspring than conspecific crosses. Differences in the number of offspring produced between heterospecific or hybrid crosses and conspecific crosses could be attributed to differences in the number of eggs laid rather than to differences in the percentage hatching. The time of hatching, the time required to reach adulthood, and hatchling-to-adult survival were similar in the various cross classes. Postzygotic barriers to gene exchange do not appear to be strong enough to account for the low number of hybrids found in mixed populations.

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