Hearing in tiger beetles (Cicindelidae)

Spangler, Hayward G.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1988.tb01129.x

Cited by 46 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This has been observed in tiger beetles possessing functional tympana (Spangler, 1988). It has a short latency, and the forward movement of the abdominal terga can be easily observed when the wings are spread.…”

Section: Abdominal Contraction Response (Acr)mentioning

confidence: 89%

“…They are most sensitive to frequencies around 30 kHz, a frequency commonly used by echolocating bats, but also the dominant frequency in the species-typical sounds these beetles produce (Freitag & Lee, 1972;Spangler, 1988). The function of tiger beetle hearing and its evolutionary history are unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Many tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) have sensitive hearing mediated by a pair of tympanate ears on the dorsal surface of the ®rst abdominal segment (Spangler, 1988;Yager & Spangler, 1995). They are most sensitive to frequencies around 30 kHz, a frequency commonly used by echolocating bats, but also the dominant frequency in the species-typical sounds these beetles produce (Freitag & Lee, 1972;Spangler, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comparative study of ultrasound‐triggered behaviour in tiger beetles (Cicindelidae)

et al. 2000

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This study examines the behavioural responses to ultrasound in 52 species from the family Cicindelidae using both tethered¯ight and non-¯ight assays. Tethered¯ying tiger beetles respond to trains of bat-like ultrasonic pulses with a short-latency, multi-component behaviour. There was no variation in the nature of the behavioural responses regardless of geographical distribution or phylogenetic position. Lowest mean behavioural thresholds lie predominantly between 30 and 45 kHz. Sensitivity, however, varies widely, and several species do not respond at all in these assays. The lowest thresholds for responders are most often between 70 and 80 dB SPL. Almost all subgenera of North American tiger beetles in the genus Cicindela have at least some species with low-threshold acoustic behaviour. The single exception is the large subgenus Cicindela where all species are completely unresponsive or have very high thresholds. There was little relationship between habitat and responsiveness to ultrasound, but there is a strong correlation with seasonal activity ± species with adults active in the spring and autumn (all in the subgenus Cicindela) do not show ultrasound-triggered behaviour whereas summer-active species generally do. Superimposing these data on a current phylogeny of the North American tiger beetles suggests that acoustic behaviour (and hearing) is a shared primitive trait among the taxa examined here and that there have been at least ®ve independent losses of this character.

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Section: Abdominal Contraction Response (Acr)mentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comparative study of ultrasound‐triggered behaviour in tiger beetles (Cicindelidae)

et al. 2000

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“…Tympanal ears have evolved independently in tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) (Spangler, 1988;Yager and Spangler, 1995;Yager et al, 2000), and scarabs (Scarabidae) (Forrest et al, 1995(Forrest et al, , 1997. In tiger beetles, several species of Cicindela have ears on the dorsal surface of the first abdominal segment, beneath the wings.…”

Section: Coleopteramentioning

confidence: 97%

The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insects

Yack

2004

Microscopy Res & Technique

293

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Insects are capable of detecting a broad range of acoustic signals transmitted through air, water, or solids. Auditory sensory organs are morphologically diverse with respect to their body location, accessory structures, and number of sensilla, but remarkably uniform in that most are innervated by chordotonal organs. Chordotonal organs are structurally complex Type I mechanoreceptors that are distributed throughout the insect body and function to detect a wide range of mechanical stimuli, from gross motor movements to air-borne sounds. At present, little is known about how chordotonal organs in general function to convert mechanical stimuli to nerve impulses, and our limited understanding of this process represents one of the major challenges to the study of insect auditory systems today. This report reviews the literature on chordotonal organs innervating insect ears, with the broad intention of uncovering some common structural specializations of peripheral auditory systems, and identifying new avenues for research. A general overview of chordotonal organ ultrastructure is presented, followed by a summary of the current theories on mechanical coupling and transduction in monodynal, mononematic, Type 1 scolopidia, which characteristically innervate insect ears. Auditory organs of different insect taxa are reviewed, focusing primarily on tympanal organs, and with some consideration to Johnston's and subgenual organs. It is widely accepted that insect hearing organs evolved from pre-existing proprioceptive chordotonal organs. In addition to certain non-neural adaptations for hearing, such as tracheal expansion and cuticular thinning, the chordotonal organs themselves may have intrinsic specializations for sound reception and transduction, and these are discussed. In the future, an integrated approach, using traditional anatomical and physiological techniques in combination with new methodologies in immunohistochemistry, genetics, and biophysics, will assist in refining hypotheses on how chordotonal organs function, and, ultimately, lead to new insights into the peripheral mechanisms underlying hearing in insects.

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“…Spangler (1988b) uncovered the first evidence of hearing in this huge (350,000 species) insect order during field studies, and he confirmed that Cicindela lemniscata has sensitive ultrasonic hearing using a behavioral assay. A recent comparative study has shown that hearing is widespread in the very large, worldwide genus Cicindela, but it is not universal in the family Cicindelidae.…”

Section: Coleopteramentioning

confidence: 60%