Mating Mechanisms:
Many grasshopper species have developed elaborate, complex and unique songs. The pitch and volume of the song produced by the males is unique to each species, allowing them to recognise each other (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). In most species the female responds by following the calls of the males, but in some rare cases a species will respond acoustically (Gwynne and Morris 2002). During mating the male is astride the female, with the mating sometimes taking many hours (Gullan and Cranston 2005).
It has been found that males which have accurate songs had increased mating success when compared to a grasshopper that had no or slightly deviated songs that are specific to that species (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). Kriegbaum and Helversen (2010) conducted a study to show the preference of females to singing males. The study showed that when in a population of muted males (forewings removed purposely) the females took longer to find a male and mate (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). The study also showed that if females had the choice between singing or muted males, she exclusively mated with the singing males (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010).
Many grasshopper species have developed elaborate, complex and unique songs. The pitch and volume of the song produced by the males is unique to each species, allowing them to recognise each other (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). In most species the female responds by following the calls of the males, but in some rare cases a species will respond acoustically (Gwynne and Morris 2002). During mating the male is astride the female, with the mating sometimes taking many hours (Gullan and Cranston 2005).
It has been found that males which have accurate songs had increased mating success when compared to a grasshopper that had no or slightly deviated songs that are specific to that species (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). Kriegbaum and Helversen (2010) conducted a study to show the preference of females to singing males. The study showed that when in a population of muted males (forewings removed purposely) the females took longer to find a male and mate (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010). The study also showed that if females had the choice between singing or muted males, she exclusively mated with the singing males (Kriegbaum and Helversen 2010).