Stridulation of Gryllotalpa africana (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) on Turf Grass in South Africa
Abstract
During spring to autumn, Gryllotalpa africana males stridulate and produce phonotactic calling songs from specially constructed acoustical burrows. Songs start just after dusk and continue for several hours. The characteristics of the trilling song and sound pressure levels produced were investigated by near field digital recordings made during autumn 2002 and spring 2002 with soil temperatures noted by measuring sound pressures beyond the near field with a sound level meter in spring 2002, respectively. The carrier frequency (2.161-2.477 kHz) and syllable duration (7.340-12.078 ms) of calls showed no significant relationship with soil temperature and no significant differences between autumn and spring with soil temperature constant. Syllable period (10.455-17.221 ms) and inter syllable interval (1.912-9.607 ms) were significantly negatively correlated with soil temperature, and with the latter constant, significantly longer in spring than in autumn. The syllable repetition rate (0.058-0.096 syllables/ms) and duty cycle (43.31-81.72) showed a significant positive relationship with soil temperature and significant decrease in values with soil temperature constant in spring relative to autumn. Sound pressure levels (re. 20 Pa) at 200 mm from the burrow varied from 77.6 to 89.8 dB.View this article in BioOne
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