Summary: Honda-Sumi (2005)

Cricket songs are species-specific signals important for species recognition, mate choice and male advertisement. Honda-Sumi (2005) compared the calling songs of 3 Japanese crickets to validate the function of acoustic signals (i.e. calling song) as a premating isolation mechanism between sympatric species using playback experiments. Teleogryllus emma is widely distributed and is sympatric with both T. yezoemma (North) and T. taiwanemma (South), while T. yezoemma and T. taiwanemma are allopatric. Hondu-Sumi (2005) compared three temporal parameters, 1 frequency parameter and two structural parameters to test for species divergence in signals and also tested whether female T. taiwanemma distinguish conspecific males. Sympatric species had divergent songs, while allopatric species had similar songs. T. taiwanemma females could discriminate conspecifics (i.e. showed positive phonotaxis). This suggests that, where hybridization is costly, calling song is an important premating isolation barrier in sympatric Teleogryllus species.