Abstract
In crickets Gryllus bimaculatus, flight has been shown to be able to promote aggressive encounters between males and to suppress escape behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of flight on male behavior in male–female interactions. We found that flown males demonstrate enhanced courtship behavior. The latency of calling song was significantly shorter, while the relative total duration of singing as well as the duration of singing episodes longer in flown males than in the control. Mating rate was also significantly higher in the experimental group containing flown males. The results suggest that, in addition to previously reported effects on aggressiveness and escape, flying has a profound accelerating effect on male courtship behavior.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Prof. D. Sakharov and two reviewers for comments on earlier version of this manuscript. This work was supported by grant 05-04-49812 and 08-04-00120 from RFBR and “Science support foundation”. We declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of Russian Federation.
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Dyakonova, V., Krushinsky, A. Previous Motor Experience Enhances Courtship Behavior in Male Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus . J Insect Behav 21, 172–180 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-008-9117-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-008-9117-4