Abstract
Receptive females of the bushcricketRequena sp. 5 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) are attracted to male calls. In this experiment we investigate whether females discriminate between males on the basis of their calls. When virgin females were presented with two males of different size, they preferred the larger male. Larger males produce calls with a lower carrier frequency compared to smaller males, suggesting that females may use male carrier frequency as a predictor of male size. Furthermore, larger males produce heavier spermatophores. This suggests that females may prefer to mate with larger males to receive large nuptial gifts.
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Wedell, N., Sandberg, T. Female preference for large males in the bushcricketRequena sp. 5 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). J Insect Behav 8, 513–522 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01995323
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01995323