Elsevier

Acta Tropica

Volume 79, Issue 2, 25 May 2001, Pages 171-178
Acta Tropica

Comparison of disturbance stridulations in five species of triatominae bugs

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-706X(01)00095-XGet rights and content

Abstract

It has been observed that Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus females stridulate to reject copulatory attempts performed by males. In addition, triatomines stridulate when disturbed or handled. In the present study, the temporal structure and frequency spectra of vibrational signals produced by mechanically disturbed T. infestans, T. sordida, T. guasayana, R. prolixus and Dipetalogaster maxima were analysed and compared. The inter-ridge distances of the prosternal stridulatory organ of the same species were also measured. The frequency spectra and repetition rates were similar, despite individuals of these five species have different sizes, their stridulatory grooves have different inter-ridge distances, and also their vibratory signals exhibited different temporal patterns. The hypothesis that disturbance stridulations are non-specific signals and could function to deter predators was discussed.

Introduction

Several insect species produced different vibratory signals that are emitted in different behavioural contexts (Michelsen et al., 1982, Markl, 1983). For example, the bug Phymata crassipes (Heteroptera: Phymatidae) performs precopulatory, locomotory and alarm vibratory signals (Gogala and Cokl, 1983). In Phrydiuchus tau (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the occurrence of two kinds of stridulations performed in both disturbance and sexual contexts was demonstrated. In one case, both males and females of this species stridulated when they were disturbed and, in the other, only males stridulated when they approach towards the female and during copula (Wilson et al., 1993). Triatomine bugs posses a prosternal stridulatory organ which consists of a cuticular, longitudinal groove composed of a number of transverse ridges (Lent and Wygodzinsky, 1979, Di Luciano, 1981). Stridulation is produced by these insects when the tip of the proboscis is rubbed against the prosternal groove. Like other insects, the triatomine bugs Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus have been observed to stridulate, in at least, two different behavioural contexts. Females of these species stridulate either to reject copulatory attempts performed by males, or males and females both stridulate when they are disturbed or handled (Moore, 1961, Schofield, 1977, Manrique and Lazzari, 1994, Roces and Manrique, 1996, Manrique and Schilman, 2000). The hypothesis that the stridulations emitted in response to disturbance are defensive responses to predators' attack had been proposed for wasps and beetles species (Bauer, 1976, Masters, 1979) and for Reduviidae (Leston, 1957). Taking into account this hypothesis, we would expect that the disturbance signal might be generalised for all triatomines. Thus, a comparative analysis of these vibratory signals among different species becomes important.

In this study, the temporal structure and frequency spectra of stridulations performed by mechanically-disturbed T. infestans, T. sordida, T. guasayana, R. prolixus and Dipetalogaster maxima were characterised and compared. The morphology of the stridulatory groove of these species was also compared.

Section snippets

Insects

Adult males and females of T. infestans, T. sordida, T. guasayana, R. prolixus and D. maxima, were used. Insects were reared at the Servicio Nacional de Chagas, Santa Marı́a de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina, or in our laboratory. One week before the assays, insects were fed ad libitum with heparinised bovine blood using an artificial feeder (Núñez and Lazzari, 1990).

Experimental design and procedure

To generate disturbance stridulations each bug was clasped with forceps by its hindleg and then, its dorsal thorax was smoothly

Results

The temporal pattern of stridulations, as well as the frequency spectra of the five triatomine species, are shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Table 1. As no signal differences were found between sexes, they were analysed together. In the cases presented here, stridulations consisted of long series of repetitive syllables, each one composed of two chirps, a short and a long one. The exception was R. prolixus, which produced a series of short chirps and then a long chirp. In addition, in all species

Discussion

Triatomine species were able to produce at least two different vibratory signals with different meanings. On the one hand, the sexual signal of triatomines has an intraspecific role in communication between non-receptive females that stridulate to reject the copulatory attempts performed by males (Manrique and Lazzari, 1994, Roces and Manrique, 1996, Manrique and Schilman, 2000). This signal must match the perception capacities of the insects and we would expect structure specificity. On the

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to F. Roces for critically reading the early version of the manuscript, to all Insect Physiology Laboratory staff for fruitful discussions, to Delmi Canale (Servicio Nacional de Chagas, Argentina) for the provision of much of the insects used in the study, to M. Lorenzo for body length measurements of D. maxima and to two anonymous reviewers for very helpful comments. Data analysis was performed thanks to F. Roces from the University of Würzburg, Germany. This

References (21)

  • G. Manrique et al.

    Two different vibratory signals in Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

    Acta Tropica

    (2000)
  • F. Roces et al.

    Different stridulatory vibrations during sexual behaviour and disturbance in the blood-sucking bug Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

    J. Insect. Physiol.

    (1996)
  • T. Bauer

    Experimente zur Frage der biologischen Bedeutung des Stridulationsverhalten von Kfern

    Z. Tierpsychol.

    (1976)
  • V.S. Di Luciano

    Morphology of the stridulatory groove of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

    J. Med. Entomol.

    (1981)
  • D.E. Games et al.

    The secretion from Brindley's scent gland in Triatominae

    Ann. Ent. Soc. Am.

    (1974)
  • M. Gogala et al.

    The acoustic behaviour of the bug Phymata crassipes (F.) (Heteroptera)

    Rev. Can. Biol. Exp.

    (1983)
  • H. Lent et al.

    Revision of the Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae), and their significance as vectors of Chagas' disease

    Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.

    (1979)
  • D. Leston

    The stridulatory mechanisms in terrestrial species of Hemiptera Heteroptera

    Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.

    (1957)
  • G. Manrique et al.

    Sexual behaviour and stridulation during mating in Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

    Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

    (1994)
  • H. Markl

    Die Verstandigung durch Stridulationssignale bei Blattscheidenameisen. II. Erzeugung und Eigenschaften der Signale

    Z. vergl. Physiol.

    (1968)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (27)

  • An inside look at the sensory biology of triatomines

    2017, Journal of Insect Physiology
    Citation Excerpt :

    Almost 70 years ago Autrum and Schneider (1948) showed that triatomines are sensitive to substrate vibration despite not having true subgenual organs. Vibratory communication and the role of triatomine stridulation have been analyzed by different authors (Schilman et al., 2001) and reviewed in detail by Lazzari et al. (2006). Triatomines produce vibratory signals (through stridulation) during mating and under perturbance, which are propagated as mechanical waves through the insect body and the substrate.

  • Common features and species-specific differences in stridulatory organs and stridulation patterns of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)

    2013, Zoologischer Anzeiger
    Citation Excerpt :

    Such a situation may be expected to occur in mutillid wasps, given that, though not necessarily used in species recognition, the sounds are usually species-specific in insects (Barr, 1969; Neems et al., 1997). In fact, despite how similar stridulation is, in its main general traits, across a broad range of insect taxa (Masters, 1980; Schmitt and Traue, 1990; Schilman et al., 2001; Kasper and Hirschberger, 2005; Hill, 2007), many studies revealed species-specific patterns of sound (and related morphology) (e.g. scarabeid beetles (Kasper and Hirschberger, 2005), homopterons (Claridge, 1985), ants (Grasso et al., 1998, 2000), ensiferons (Otte, 1992)). However, in other cases, such as chrysomelid beetles, stridulatory organs vary among species (Schmitt, 1994) but stridulation pattern is notably similar (Schmitt and Traue, 1990).

  • Temporal patterns of intra- and interspecific acoustic signals differ in two closely related species of Acanthoplus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae)

    2011, Zoology
    Citation Excerpt :

    In addition to this main function, insects use the sound-producing system for interspecific interaction, among other things as a secondary defence mechanism. For example, Coleoptera (Masters, 1979, 1980), Hymenoptera (Masters, 1979, 1980; Sen Sarma et al., 2002), Hemiptera (Alexander, 1960; Schilman et al., 2001), Blattodea (Schal et al., 1982), Mantodea (Edmunds, 1972) and Orthoptera (Belwood, 1990; Heller, 1996; Desutter-Grandcolas, 1998) produce a startle sound upon disturbance, e.g. by handling. In all of these insect taxa the disturbance sounds generally have an irregular and variable structure (Masters, 1980).

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text