Induction of song activity in Oecanthus pellucens (Scopoli, 1763) (Gryllidae, Oecanthinae)

3 Pages·2001·2 MB·

by  M. A. Pfeifer

nitidula emahrt sich vor allem von Samen und Grdsern, Aiolopus fhalassi''nus ist ARTICULATA 2001 16(1t21:75 -78 BIOLOGIE
pofyphag und tendenziell krduterfressend. FOr Ruspolia nitidula legen die Beob-
achtungen nahe, daB die Art jahreszeitlich wechselnd die ndhrstoffreichsten Nah-
rungsressourcen ausbeutet. Schilf wird nur in jungem Zustand gefressen, wdh-
nduction of song activity in Oecanthus pellucens (Scoeou, 1763)
rend spdter Grassamen die Hauptnahrung darstellen. f
(Gryllidae, Oecanthinae)
Danksagung
Manfred Alban Ffeifer
Ein Teil der Beobachtungen erfolgte im Rahmen von Untersuchungen fUr die Be-
zirksstelle f0r Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege Karlsruhe und fUr das Bayeri-
sche Landesamt fiir Umweltschutz, denen fUr die M6glichkeit zur Ver6ffentli-
chung gedankt sei. Zusammenfassung
Gesangsausfdsung beim Weinhiihnchen (Oecanthus pellucens)
Verfasser Der Autor gibt Hinweise darauf, dass bei Oecanthus pellucens Gesang aus-
Reinhold Treiber
schlieBlich durch Dunkelheit ausgeldst wird. Die Art scheint nicht eine bestimmte
lm Westengarten 12 Zeit wdhrend der Nacht zu bevorzugen, eine Steuerung der Gesangsaktivitdit
79241 lhringen
durch eine biologische Uhr ist daher nicht anzunehmen. Gesang beginnt unter-
e-mail : [email protected] halb einer bestimmten Lichtintensitdt, welche normalervveise mit dem Dimme-
rungseinbruch erreicht wird, und endet am ndchsten Morgen, sofern Nachts nicht
Literatur eine Minimaltemperatur unterschritten wird. Die Art singt auch tagsUber, wenn
GorrscHALK, E. (1993): Sukzession auf neu angelegten Rebb6schungen im Kaiserstuhl am durch starke Bewcilkung die Lichtintensitdt reduziert ist.
Beispiel der Heuschrecken. Diplomarbeit Fak. f. Biologie, Univ. Freiburg; 65 S. Summary
(unver6ff.).
The author gives evidence that song activity in Oecanthus pellucens is induced
lNGRrScH, & KOHLER (1998): Die Heuschrecken Mitteleuropas. Neue Brehm-Bucherei Bd. 629.
only by a scotophase. Because it has no preference for a certain time during the
460 S. Magdeburg.
natural scotophase the species has no need for a biological clock for the
lNGRrScH, S. (1 976): Vergleichende Untersuchungen zum Nahrungsspektrum regulation of its song activity at all. Song activity is starting just below a certain
mifteleuropdischer Laubheuschrecken (Saltatoria: Tettigoniidae). Entomol. Z" 20:217-
light intensity - which is normally reached at dusk - and is ending at dawn or
224; Stuttgart.
when temperature falls at night below a certain threshold. The species may sing
TRETBER, R. & ALBRECHT, M. (1996): Die GroBe Schiefkopfschrecke (Raspo/la nifdula Scopolt,
1786) neu f0r Bayern und Wiederfund f0r Deutschland (Orthoptera, Saltatoria). during the day when clouds reduce light intensity.
Nachrbl. bayer. Entomol . 45(314). 60-72. M0nchen.
TREIBER, R. (1998): Chorthippusvagans. In: DETzEL, P. (1998): Die Heuschrecken Baden- Introduction
W0rttembergs. Many organisms have an endogenous timekeeper which regulates their
WANCURA, R. & DErzEL, P. (1998): Aiolopus thalassinus. In: DErzEL, P. (1 998): Die Heuschre- activities. In insects this endogenous timekeeper is a so called insect clock. This
cken Baden-W0rttembergs. insect clock mostly follows a circadian rhythm which is calibrated by the
alternation of day and night. ln Saltatoria the activities in many species follow a
circadian rhythm but there are exceptions. For example in Sclsfocerca gregana
no circadian rhythm in locomotion activity was found (Oonnueo 1966). As
singing in Saltatoria is an essential activity most species have a preferential time
for song activity (FtscHER et al. 1996). For example Metrbpten roeseliiand M.
bicolor have higher song activities in the first half of a day (FtscHen et al. 1996).
But most known is from light trapping in night flying moth the preference of some
species for coming at different hours to the light
Saltatoria, like all insects, are poikilothermal animals and they need a minimum
air temperature for song activitity or - in diurnal species - sunshine to raise their
body temperature by solar radiation. ln Teftigonia viidissima was found that the
(n)
ARTfCULATA 2001 16 ARTTCULATA 2001 rql/2)
FP7
species prefer singing in warm evenings but is the temperature low the species E:6
already sing in the afternoon (NrELsoN & DRErsrG 1970). E:E
Oecanthus pellucens adult emerge from the end of July to the beginning of jtOc)
ar(JO
August. On warm days males start singing around sunset and song is performed
E€O
until late night. When temperature remains above a certain threshold (Snruoen PP
9
1995:12 "C) the species may continue singing till dawn (Fig. 1). €-db
<nE
Methods and results =EOtcc)
oEg
Field observations E F*
E E=
Surprisingly males may even sing during the day. Sander (1995) reports, that in ox(!
:
summer, O. pellucens starts singing at dusk, but that in autumn the species often E€
starts singing in the afternoon. DETZEL (1998) also observed singing males on T
| :
cloudy days. Even on a sunny day I located a singing male in thick bushes while .1' Est(D0z;
individuals in adjacent grassland were not singing. I also found singing males in =^ Poc BE
the early afternoon when sunlight intensity was strongly reduced by thunder 5rt(U
clouds. 9<.rP
En-s
sxt s;.E
Observation during the total solar eclipse on the 11'n of August 1999 in South- tLl *n€
West Germany
{ e sE
I used the rare opportunity of a total solar eclipse for investigating the song I Fg
8;:
activity of O. pellucens in the nature reserve'Monbijou' near Zweibriicken in the { E
South-West of Rhineland-Palatinate. O. pellucens began singing soon after 8pm I asdrlca ro 6uruurbeq b i
at the day prior to the eclipse (Fig. 1), and continued singing until dawn. The { 00 0l fli, S l l g
eclipse lasted from 11:10 until 13:54 Central European Summertime, and the ";'E
{
period of the total eclipse from 12:30 until 12:32. During this 2 minute period of ( o Fo>€Ho
intense darkening only males were heard singing. d 0080 ii68 rr (IU Urrl=. POI
( b>-ad
Capture experiments 00:90 61,9 I i
{ e Egt t
( I
In my flat in Bobenheim-Roxheim I kept some individuals of the species - which I sE aF
caught in and around the town - in 1% I pickled cucumber jars. At night they ( 00t,066811
started singing in the same timescale as individuals in nature. As soon as I { A;HEF
switched an artificial light on they stopped. When the artificial light was switched { 00l00ij8ir €5 PP€
off they started singing again within a few minutes. {
ln an other experiment I covered the jar with dark woollen sheets so that the s EE:€E
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crickets were subjected to darkness during the day. Within less than five minutes {', ? sE
.qafrts6e
they started singing. (
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ARTfCULATA 2001 16
Discussion ARTICULATA 2001 t6 (1 t2l:79 KURZMITTEILUNG
The observations in the field and during the solar eclipse show that o. pellucens
only sings below a certain level of light intensity. Especially in the capture
experiment I could give evidence that song activity is rapidly triggered by lmagines von Chorthippus mollis (CHAReENTIEn, 1825) und
diminishing light intensity and is switched off immediately in bright light. The Gomphocerippus rufus (Llt.tueus, 1758) am 15. Dezember 2000
immediate reaction to the exogenous factor light implies that song activity itself is
not induced by an endogenous biological clock as it is generally assumed for Gabriel Hermann
saltatorian insects (lNGRtscH & Koeulen 1998, p234).
species which prefer a certain time of day for song activity - such as Metioptera
bicolor - may need a biological clock for orientation to the time of day. Also this In den Mittagsstunden des 15.12.2000 herrschte im baden-wurttembergischen
I
call in question because this diurnal active species stopped singing for the span Aichtal (15 km sUdl. Stuttgart) teils sonnige, aber kuhle und windige Witterung
of reduced fight intensity during the solar eclipse (PFEIFER in prep.). o. pellucens vor. Da im Verlauf des Herbstes bis dato weder stdrkere Fr6ste noch ldnger an-
starts singing below a certain light intensity and continues throughout the nlght dauernde Schneelagen aufgetreten waren und der November 2000 im Vergleich
until the temperature declines to below a certain threshold or until the beginning zum langjiihrigen Mittel auBergew6hnlich warm blieb, wurde der Versuch unter-
of the next photoperiod at dawn. Explanation of this behaviour requires no nommen, auf einem sUdexponierten Magerrasen noch Feldheuschrecken aufzu-
recourse to a biological clock, but can be explained purely by response to finden. Zwischen voll besonnter Nadelstreu einer dlteren Waldkiefer (Pinus syl-
prevailing light intensity. vestns) fanden sich schlieRlich sechs Weibchen und ein singendes Mdnnchen
der Roten Keulenschrecke (Gomphocerippus rufus) sowie ein Weibchen des
Author: Verkannten GrashUpfers (Chorthippus mollis). An der Fundstelle wurden boden-
Manfred Alban Pfeifer nah Temperaturen knapp unter 15"C gemessen. Beide Arten Zihlen im betref-
AnebosstraBe 4 fenden Gebiet zu den hiiufigsten Feldheuschrecken und erreichen hier im Spiit-
D 67240 Bobenheim-Roxheim sommer - mit unterschiedlichen Vorkommensschwerpunkten - hohe bis sehr
hohe Abundanzen.
FUr G. rufus waren iihnliche Phdnologie-Daten bereits bekannt. Derzrl (1998,
References It. schriftl. Mitt. SMErrAu) gibt fUr Baden-WUrttemberg als spdtestes Nachweis-
DETZEL, P. (1998): Die Heuschrecken Baden-Wtirtembergs. 580 S. (Ulmer), Stuttgart datum von fmagines den 14.12. an. Adulte Ch. mollis-lndividuen sind in diesem
FrscHER, P.F.; ScHueeRr, H.; FENN, S. & ScHULz, U. (1996): Diurnal song activity in grassland Bundesland dagegen offenbar noch nicht im Monat Dezember gefunden worden
Orthoptera. - Acta Oecologia 17(5): 345-364. (vgl. Phainogramm in BRnNot& GorrscHALK 1998).
lNGRrscH, s. & KoHLER, G. (1998): Die Heuschrecken Mitteleuropas.460 s. (westarp-wiss.),
Magdeburg; Verfasser:
NTELSoN, E. T. & DRErsrc, H. (1970): The behavior of stridulation in orthoptera Ensifera. Gabriel Hermann
Behaviour 37: 205-251 Arbeitsgruppe fUr Tierdkologie und Planung
.
Johann-StrauB-Str. 22
ODHIAMBo, T.R. (1966): The metabolic effects of the corpus allatum hormone in the male desert
locust. ll. Spontaneous locomotoractivity. J. exp. Biol.45: 51-63. D 70794 Filderstadt
PFETFER, M. A. (in prep.): Beobachtungen des Gesangs von Langfuhlerschrecken (Ensifera)
wahrend der totalen Sonnenfinstemis am 1 1 . August 1999 in der Pfalz - Hinweise auf Literatur
eine exogene Steuerung des Gesangsverhaltens.
BRANDT, D., Gor-rscHALr,E.: Chorthippus mollis (CHARPENTIER, 1825). - In: DETZEL, P. (199e):
SANDER, U. (1995): Neue Erkenntnisse iiber Verbreitung und Bestandssituation des Weinhdhn- Die Heuschrecken Baden-W0rftembergs. - 580 S. (Ulmer), Stuftgart.
chens oecanfhus pellucens (scopoLr, 1763) (Gryllidae, oecanthinae) im ndrdlichen
Rheinland-Pfalz und in Nordrhein-Westfalen. - Articulata 1995 10(1): 73-Bg. DErzEL, P. (1998): Gomphoceippus rufus (L|NMEUS, 1758). - In: DETZEL, P. (1998): Die
Heuschrecken Baden-Wiirttembergs. - 580 S. (Ulmer), Stuftgart.
ARTICULATA 2OO1 16 (I2I ARTICULATA 2OO1 16(1 12\