Acoustical Communication during Courtship and Mating in the Green Lacewing Chrysopa carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

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Abstract
Courtship and mating of the green lacewing Chrysopa carnea Stephens is described. Copulation is preceded by 5 well defined activities: search, antennal contact, mouthpart contact, abdominal approach, and abdominal contact. Rhythmic vibration or jerking of the abdomen in the vertical plane accompanies all stages of courtship in both sexes. Isolated, sexually receptive individuals release long sequences of discrete, short bursts or volleys of abdominal vibration or jerking separated by 1-to 2-sec intervals; female solos are rarer than male solos and display significantly longer intervals between bursts. Sexually receptive heterosexual pairs of lacewings establish duets of precise reciprocal abdominal jerking between partners; these calls seem like interdigitated solo calls, with each partner altering its normal interburst interval slightly toward that characteristic of the opposite sex. While each solo sequence typically displays increasing and then decreasing burst intervals, successful heterosexual duets manifest ever increasing burst spacing until terminated by copulation. A pair of sexually receptive males can also establish a duet of reciprocal abdominal jerking. Airborne sound, possibly ultrasound, is used for intraspecific communication. Two lacewings that occur sympatrically with C. carnea similarly jerk their abdomens spontaneously and in heterosexual duets, but differ from it markedly in the temporal patterning of their volleys: C. rufilabrisi, Burmeister releases sustained, modulated bursts of jerking at 10- to 12-sec intervals, while C. oculata Say produces simple long sequences of closely spaced volleys of abdominal vibration. I postulate that acoustical communication in chrysopids is a short distance phenomenon that functions primarily to isolate reproductively species that are morphologically and ecologically similar.