Bioacoustics of the ear of the bushcricket H e m i s a g a (Sagenae)

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Abstract
The acoustics of the ear of the bushcricket, Hemisaga (Sagenae), have been examined using suprathreshold acoustic stimuli. By manipulating the acoustic inputs into the auditory system via the spiracle and tympanic slits, the frequency and directional characteristics of the structures of the ear have been measured. At the call carrier frequency of Hemisaga (?7.4 kHz) the ear behaves like a sharply tuned bandpass acoustic filter. The trachea appears to behave like the probe tube of a probe microphone. The structures which terminate the trachea, the tympana, slit cavities, and slits, are seen to behave like two Helmholtz resonators sharply tuned to the call carrier frequency. At the call carrier frequency the ear becomes highly directional; the directionality being determined by the slits alone. A new method of quantifying the neural response to suprathreshold acoustic stimuli is also discussed in detail.

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