Insect hearing in the field

1989 ◽  
Vol 164 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiner R�mer ◽  
Winston Bailey ◽  
Ian Dadour
Keyword(s):  
Insect Hearing

scholarly journals Comparative micromechanics of bushcricket ears with and without a specialized auditory fovea region in the crista acustica

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1929) ◽  
pp. 20200909
Author(s):  
Jan Scherberich ◽  
Roxana Taszus ◽  
Alexander Stoessel ◽  
Manuela Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Area Under Curve ◽  
Sensory Cell ◽  
Travelling Waves ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Insect Hearing ◽  
Foveal Region ◽  
Hearing Organ ◽  
Neuronal Encoding

In some insects and vertebrate species, the specific enlargement of sensory cell epithelium facilitates the perception of particular behaviourally relevant signals. The insect auditory fovea in the ear of the bushcricket Ancylecha fenestrata (Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) is an example of such an expansion of sensory epithelium. Bushcricket ears developed in convergent evolution anatomical and functional similarities to mammal ears, such as travelling waves and auditory foveae, to process information by sound. As in vertebrate ears, sound induces a motion of this insect hearing organ (crista acustica), which can be characterized by its amplitude and phase response. However, detailed micromechanics in this bushcricket ear with an auditory fovea are yet unknown. Here, we fill this gap in knowledge for bushcricket, by analysing and comparing the ear micromechanics in Ancylecha fenestrata and a bushcricket species without auditory fovea ( Mecopoda elongata , Tettigoniidae: Mecopodinae) using laser-Doppler vibrometry. We found that the increased size of the crista acustica, expanded by a foveal region in A. fenestrata , leads to higher mechanical amplitudes and longer phase delays in A. fenestrata male ears. Furthermore, area under curve analyses of the organ oscillations reveal that more sensory units are activated by the same stimuli in the males of the auditory fovea-possessing species A. fenestrata . The measured increase of phase delay in the region of the auditory fovea supports the conclusion that tilting of the transduction site is important for the effective opening of the involved transduction channels. Our detailed analysis of sound-induced micromechanics in this bushcricket ear demonstrates that an increase of sensory epithelium with foveal characteristics can enhance signal detection and may also improve the neuronal encoding.

Insect hearing in the field

1986 ◽  
Vol 158 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
J�rgen Rheinlaender ◽  
Heiner R�mer
Keyword(s):  
Insect Hearing

Signal processing in insect hearing organs

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kern ◽  
R. Stoop ◽  
M. Gopfert ◽  
D.A. Smirnov ◽  
B.B. Bezrucko
Keyword(s):  
Signal Processing ◽  
Insect Hearing

scholarly journals If a bird flies in the forest, does an insect hear it?

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 20130319 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Fournier ◽  
J. W. Dawson ◽  
A. Mikhail ◽  
J. E. Yack
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Nerve ◽  
Trichoplusia Ni ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Nerve Cells ◽  
Poecile Atricapillus ◽  
Insect Hearing ◽  
Bird Flight ◽  
Hearing Thresholds ◽  
Foraging Tactics

Birds are major predators of many eared insects including moths, butterflies, crickets and cicadas. We provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that insect ears can function as ‘bird detectors’. First, we show that birds produce flight sounds while foraging. Eastern phoebes ( Sayornis phoebe ) and chickadees ( Poecile atricapillus ) generate broadband sounds composed of distinct repetitive elements (approx. 18 and 20 Hz, respectively) that correspond to cyclic wing beating. We estimate that insects can detect an approaching bird from distances of at least 2.5 m, based on insect hearing thresholds and sound level measurements of bird flight. Second, we show that insects with both high and low frequency hearing can hear bird flight sounds. Auditory nerve cells of noctuid moths ( Trichoplusia ni ) and nymphalid butterflies ( Morpho peleides ) responded in a bursting pattern to playbacks of an attacking bird. This is the first study to demonstrate that foraging birds generate flight sound cues that are detectable by eared insects. Whether insects exploit these sound cues, and alternatively, if birds have evolved sound-reducing foraging tactics to render them acoustically ‘cryptic’ to their prey, are tantalizing questions worthy of further investigation.

scholarly journals Convergent evolution of insect hearing organs from a preadaptive structure

1999 ◽  
Vol 266 (1424) ◽  
pp. 1161-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Lakes-Harlan ◽  
Heiko Stölting ◽  
Andreas Stumpner
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Insect Hearing
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