Abstract
Representatives of the Heteroptera families Acanthosomatidae and Pentatomidae were studied with respect to their sound production. In the course of these studies, we found that the species studied were capable of producing sound, which could be made audible by means of a modified stethoscope. Sounds were emitted predominantly by males, and, in several species, also by females. Sound characteristics and morphological information suggest that the sounds are not of stridulatory origin, but are produced by a hitherto unknown mechanism, i.e., an oscillating membrane. We hypothesize that the sound-producing organ(s) of the Pentatomidae and the Acanthosomatidae may be a simple precursor of the cicada’s drumming organ. Behavioral observations revealed that the sounds certainly play a role in mating behavior, and may also be significant for defense; however, sound emissions were also observed in situations where the behavioral context remained unresolved. Frequency and amplitude of the sounds emitted were observed to be temperature-dependent.
Hannelore Hoch and Andreas Wessel are Translators.
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References
Jordan KHC (1958a) Die Biologie von Elasmucha grisea L. (Heteroptera: Acanthosomidae) [the biology of Elasmucha grisea L. (Heteroptera: Acanthosomidae)]. Beitr Ent 8:385–397
Jordan KHC (1958b) Lautäußerungen bei den Hemipteren-Familien der Cydnidae, Pentatomidae und Acanthosomidae. [sound emissions in the Hemiptera families Cydnidae, Pentatomidae and Acanthosomidae]. Zool Anz 161:130–144
Leston D (1954) Strigils and stridulation in Pentatomoidea (hem.): some new data and a review. Ent Month Mag 90:49–56
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In 1958, Karl H. C. Jordan (1888–1972, then Zoological Institute, Technical University, Dresden, Germany) published two articles on the biology of the parent bug Elasmucha grisea L. (Insecta: Hemiptera: Acanthosomidae) (Jordan 1958a) and on sound emissions in the Hemiptera families Cydnidae, Pentatomidae, and Acanthosomatidae (Jordan 1958b). Both articles are significant contributions to the methodological and behavioral aspects of biotremology, yet have been largely ignored by the international scientific community, as they are both in German. The results published in both papers were findings obtained in the course of a diploma thesis by Jordan’s student Helga Slowioczek. As was the custom of the times, Slowioczek was not offered coauthorship for the publications resulting from her work. Her diploma thesis proper has never been published. It is thus also our intention to honor Helga Slowioczek’s contribution to biotremology by providing English translations for those text passages that are of direct impact on this field of research. It should be noted that the terminology used in the two publications does not discriminate between air-borne and surface-borne vibrations.
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Jordan, K.H.C., Slowioczek, H., Hoch, H., Wessel, A. (2022). Sound Production in True Bugs from the Families Acanthosomatidae and Pentatomidae (1958). In: Hill, P.S.M., Mazzoni, V., Stritih-Peljhan, N., Virant-Doberlet, M., Wessel, A. (eds) Biotremology: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution. Animal Signals and Communication, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97419-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97419-0_2
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