Stridulation

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Stridulation sound of the cricket ( Acheta domesticus )
Stridulation sound of several grasshoppers
Stridulation sound of the ant Pachycondyla apicalis
Stridulation organ in the female of the gravedigger Nicrophorus interruptus , left section of tergite with the two shrill ridges, right section of the underside of the left wing cover in the area of ​​the suture angle, green: position and length of the shrill edge
A: Mecostethus gracilis . B: left fore wing. The marked wing vein (C) is used to generate sounds.
Stridulation of the twittering insect

As Stridulation is designated by rubbing two mutually movable body parts a special form of sound production, especially in insects and spiders can be observed. It is used for intra-species communication.

Stridulation is rarely seen in other classes . Among the mammals , for example, the striped ducklings communicate in the confusing jungle by rubbing special spikes together. Among the higher crabs , the legs of the West Atlantic Riding Crab can be observed rubbing together, making a rasping noise. The sand rattle otters are an example of reptiles that stridulate by rubbing their lateral scales together. In birds , the club-winged pipra ( Machaeropterus deliciosus ) is characterized by specially designed flight feathers that rub against each other when the wings beat quickly. Male birds draw the attention of females willing to mate through the noise it makes.

insects

Stridulation occurs in very many groups of insects; The chirping is particularly well known in the long- and short-sensor fright and in various beetles (e.g. longhorn beetles ). Often shrill edges are guided over shrill surfaces to generate sounds. The result is a scratchy, humming, hissing or chirping sound. Wing veins or leg edges are usually formed as shrill edges, surfaces of the wings or other surfaces of the body serve as shrill surfaces.

be crazy

In spiders, the sounds are usually generated with the pedipalps , both by rubbing the pedipalps on shrill edges and by drumming with the palps or the legs on the substrate. Some species, e.g. B. Giant crab spiders , make sounds through the vibrations of the body on the surface. Cobwebs , pads and leaves etc. are used as soundboards. Stridulation is mostly used for intra-species communication , mainly during courtship , with the male stridulating with the palps to announce himself to the female or to attract females ready to mate, but also for species recognition and deterrence (inter-species communication). Predators are probably deterred by imitating the predator's frequencies. Larger tarantulas sometimes make sounds to defend themselves against larger animals, e.g. B. People. Most of the sounds of the smaller spiders are inaudible to humans; therefore little is known about the stridulation of the spiders. It can be assumed that stridulation is common in spiders.

literature

  • Rainer F. Foelix: Biology of the spiders. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-13-575801-X .

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