Differences in preference for species-specific female calls between acoustically experienced and acoustically naive male Ribautodelphax planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae)

• Published in: Journal of insect behavior 1993-05, Vol.6 (3), p.411-419
• Main Authors: Winter, A.J. de (University of Wageningen, Wageningen, Netherlands), Rollenhagen, T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES; Animal ethology; Biological and medical sciences; COMPORTAMIENTO SEXUAL; COMPORTEMENT SEXUEL; DELPHACIDAE; EDUCACION; EDUCATION; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Homoptera; Invertebrates; Laboratorium voor Entomologie; Laboratory of Entomology; LEARNING; MATING BEHAVIOR; PROPIEDADES ACUSTICAS; PROPRIETE ACOUSTIQUE; Protozoa. Invertebrata; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR; SON (ACOUSTIQUE); SONIDO; SOUND
• ISSN: 0892-7553; 1572-8889
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01048120

Males of the planthopper Ribautodelphax imitans were exposed to playbacks of either conspecific or heterospecific (R. imitantoides ) female calls during their development from egg to adult, and thereafter these, as well as naive males, were offered a two-way choice between these calls. Males of all treatments approached the conspecific call significantly more often. However, males primed by the conspecific call chose the heterospecific call almost four times less often than did males primed by heterospecific calls or naive males, thus showing that the preference for conspecific calls can be partly "learned." Males primed by heterospecific calls performed very similarly to completely naive males, suggesting that the signal recognition mechanism is much less sensitive to heterospecific calls than to conspecific calls. Males with experience of the conspecific female call tended to take more time to reach the call source in the trials than both other types of males. The evolutionary implications of these findings are discussed.