Recognition of a two-element song in the grasshopper Chorthippus dorsatus (Orthoptera: Gomphocerinae)

Summary Males of the grasshopper Chorthippus dorsatus produce songphrases which contain two differently structured elements — pulsed syllables in the first part (A) and ongoing noise in the second part (B). Females of Ch. dorsatus answer to artificial song models only if both elements A and B are present. Females strongly prefer song models in which the order of elements is A preceding B. Females discriminate between the two elements mainly by the existence of gaps within A-syllables. Pulses of 5–8 ms separated by gaps of 8–15 ms make most effective A-syllables, while syllable duration and syllable intervals are less critical parameters. Females respond to models which contain more than 3 A-syllables with high probability. Female model preferences lie well in the range of parameter values produced by singing males, except for B-parts which must be longer than those of any natural song to be most effective. In ancestors of Ch. dorsatus the two elements of the songs might have been directed towards females (part A) and males (part B).     

Influence of Male Songs on Female Mating Behavior in the Grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

In males of the grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus the relationship between song and mating success was investigated in three isolated field populations of individually marked animals within their natural habitat. In a population with muted males (forewings removed), females mated on average 1.7 days later than in a population with intact males. But approximately 14 days after the imaginal moult, roughly corresponding with the time of the first oviposition, 100% of females in both populations had mated. In a further test population, females with a choice between singing and mute males mated almost exclusively (16 from 17 observed copulations) with the intact, singing males. The chance encounter frequency of a male and female was equally high for all populations (on average one encounter every 1.2 h). Different encounter probabilities cannot therefore have caused either mating delay in the population with muted males or preferential selection of intact partners.     

The unusual inheritance pattern of the courtship songs in closely related grasshopper species of the Chorthippus albomarginatus-group (Orthoptera: Gomphocerinae)

Sibling species of the Chorthippus albomarginatus-group are exceptional among all European grasshopper species because they have an extremely elaborate courtship behaviour. Here, we present a genetic analysis of the courtship song differences between two closely related grasshopper species Ch. albomarginatus and Ch. oschei. Measurements of seven courtship song characters and one parameter of courtship visual display were compared among parentals, F(1) and F(2) hybrids, and backcrosses. Variation in one morphological character, the number of stridulatory pegs, was studied as well. The distributions of song phenotypes were more consistent with a type-III genetic architecture, which involves complementary or duplicate pairs of loci. We suggest that this type of architecture may provide the novel elements of the hybrid songs, even more complex than the parental ones, which may offer a new starting point for sexual selection. One parameter of the visual display appeared to be controlled by a single locus, but differences in other characters of visual display could be explained by a more complex inheritance pattern. Inheritance of the peg number differences was consistent with a simple polygenic additive model. Sex linkage and/or maternal effects were not detected for any trait. We found a disproportionate influence of the Ch. albomarginatus parent on most hybrid song characteristics and the visual display, and this may support a previously suggested idea that Ch. albomarginatus is an ancestral form and Ch. oschei is a derived species.     

Variation in sperm precedence in Chorthippus grasshoppers (Caelifera: Gomphocerinae)

Variation in the proportions of offspring fathered by a second male to mate (the P₂ value) has been studied in two species of grasshoppers, Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt) and Ch. biguttulus (Linnaeus), by means of the sterile‐male technique. In both species the P₂‐values of the first egg pods laid were in the range of 50–100%, and the temporal variation of P₂‐values appeared to follow two modes. In one, the P₂‐value steadily declined with time, in the other it remained constant at a high level. It is concluded that sperm is passively lost between two matings. The remaining sperm then either mixes within the spermatheca or is stratified. Further variability in sperm precedence can possibly be explained by spermatophore ejection or differential use of stored sperm.     

Prevalence of a Nosema sp. (Microsporida: Nosematidae) in Natural Populations of Chorthippus brunneus (Orthoptera: Gomphocerinae) in Southern Spain

A microsporidium Nosema sp. was isolated from the grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus (Thunberg) collected in Spain. Infected individuals were found throughout most of the season when nymphs and adults of C. brunneus were present (March-June). Other acridoids collected in the same area were not found to be infected, indicating that this microsporidium is probably host specific. Attempts to artificially infect Dociostarus maroccanus (Thunberg) nymphs failed.     

Environmental stress and fluctuating asymmetry in the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Acrididae: Gomphocerinae)

We examined the effect of agrochemical pollution/fertilisation of the soil and climatic conditions at high altitudes on fluctuating asymmetry (FA) level in hindfemur and forewing lengths of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt). All traits and samples exhibited ideal FA. Forewings, which are less functionally significant in this species, generally exhibited greater FA than the more functionally significant femora. Forewing FA was also more affected by stress induced by climatic conditions at high altitudes than femur FA. The high altitude sample was the most asymmetric sample for both traits, followed by the two control samples. The two samples from agrochemically contaminated habitats showed the lowest asymmetry in femora and forewings of C. parallelus. These results suggest that high altitude imposes more stress on this grasshopper species than does agrochemical contamination although the stress response was more dramatic in the less functional trait.     

Mechanistic Aspects to Feeding Preferences in Chorthippus binotatus (Acrididae, Gomphocerinae)

In the dry heathlands of the Limoges region of France, Chorthippus binotatus differs from allied graminivorous species by its diet specialization, composed of dwarf gorse bush (Ulex minor). Nymphal stages exclusively feed on leaves. Adults become florivorous at the season's end. The preference for Ulex bushes versus grasses involves recognition of host plant architecture, and particularly the angle of the axes (branches, stems). Sugar sensitivity and odor discrimination experiments at the end of season showed that adults are more attracted by sucrose and fructose than by glucose or water. HPAEC-PAD analyses of different plant organs revealed that soluble sugar content of Ulex (especially U. minor) flowers is greater than Ulex shoots and stems and leaves of grasses. These results partly explain the consumption of U. minor rather than U. europaeus. The temporal shift toward flowers is explained by the sweet taste and the yellow color. The interest for sucrose and yellow is enhanced during the season and is the result of learning.     

Costs and Benefits of Mating in the Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Caelifera: Acrididae)

Fitness consequences of different levels of mating benefits, viz., (1) virgin, (2) seldom mated, (3) free mating chances with the same male throughout the female's life span, and (4) free mating chances with three males always offered, were investigated in female meadow grasshoppers Chorthippus parallelus. No differences among the treatments were apparent in egg number per pod, total egg number per female, and hatching success of larvae. Seldom-mated females had offspring with the heaviest average larval dry weight. We did not find costs of mating in terms of reduced female longevity and residual dry weight between the treatments.     

Genetic divergence in the Chorthippus parallelus species group (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Specimens of Chorthippus parallelus parallelus, C. p. erythropus, C. montanus, C. curtipennis and C. dorsatus were examined electrophoretically. This analysis indicates that C. curtipennis is very closely related to C. p. parallelus and C.p. erythropus (Nei's I = 0.97) while C. montanus is more distantly related ( I = 0.88). The values are consistent with divergence of C. p. erythropus from C. p. parallelus since its separation by the Pyrenean ice sheet during the Pleistocene and of C. curtipennis since invasion of North America by C. parallelus at the same time. A much earlier divergence of C. montanus is implied.     

A hybrid zone between Chorthippus parallelus parallelus and Chorthippus parallelus erythropus (Orthoptera: Acrididae): morphological and electrophoretic characters

Two subspecies of the grasshopper Chorthippus parullelus have distributions that abut in the Pyrenees. We have studied morphological and electrophoretic variation in II populations near Mont Louis, Pyrénées-Orientales, France. The two subspecies differ in several morphological characters and at one enzyme locus, esterase-2, and in this area they hybridize forming a cline in morphology less than 5 km wide. Examination of museum specimens suggests that this hybrid zone extends for most of the length of the Pyrenees, possibly breaking down in the extreme west. As the two subspecies are known to differ in mating behaviour this hybrid zone is well suited to the study of reinforcement.     

The complete mitochondrial genome of Gomphocerus tibetanus Uvarov, 1935 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae)

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Gomphocerus tibetanus Uvarov, 1935 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) was determined. It is 15,571 bp in length and contains 74.8% A + T. All Gomphocerus tibetanus protein-coding sequences start with a typical ATN codon. The usual termination codons (TAA and TAG) were found from 13 PCGs except COI and COII which took incomplete codon T as termination codons. All tRNA genes could be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except tRNA^Ser(AGN) lacking of dihydrouridine (D) arm. The sizes of the large and small ribosomal RNA genes are 1313 and 822 bp, respectively. The A + T content of the A + T-rich region is 82.3%. A preliminary analysis on characteristics of Gomphocerinae mitogenome was made by comparision among three Gomphocerinae mitogenomes and Locusta migratoria.     

An unusual mitochondrial DNA polymorphism in the Chorthippus biguttulus species group (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment patterns have been used to investigate the Chorthippus biguttulus group: a group of morphologically similar grasshopper species with very distinct male calling songs. Ten haplotypes were identified in 21 populations, representing six species. Haplotype diversity was as great within species, and in some case within populations, as it was among species and no clear geographical patterns of haplotype distribution were revealed. In the light of grasshopper range changes since the last glaciation it is unlikely that these data can be explained entirely by the retention of ancestral polymorphism. This suggests that hybridization has occurred during periods of grasshopper range expansion since the last glacial maximum, allowing mtDNA transfer between populations that have previously diverged in allopatry.     

Causation, fitness effects and morphology of macropterism in Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

ABSTRACT. 1. Chorthippus parallelus (Zett.) displays an apparent'flight polyphenism'despite the fact that macropterous individuals cannot fly.
2. Photoperiod is used as an environmental cue controlling the polyphenism: long day lengths increasing the proportion of macropterous adults.
3. Macropterous females start mating when older and are less fecund than brachypters.
4. In contrast to other studies the response may not be due to cues associated with a reduced environmental quality and we speculate that macropterism is not a dispersal mechanism in the Gomphocerinae.