Tishechkin D.Yu. 2011. Calling signals in sympatric species of the far-eastern Aphrophora (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae): regularities of communication channel segregation // Russian Entomol. J. Vol.20. No.1: 57–64 [in English].
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobyevy Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia. E-mail: macropsis@yandex.ru
KEY WORDS: spittle bugs, Aphrophoridae, Aphrophora, calling signals, vibrational communication, signal recognition.
ABSTRACT. Comparative investigation of male calling signals of six sympatric spittle bug species from the genus Aphrophora was conducted. In different species signals consist of either prolonged single or short repeated phrases. Within each group species differ from each other both in temporal pattern of rhythmic elements and in their duration and repetition period, sometimes quantitative differences being more reliable than qualitative ones. Similar regularities were described earlier in sympatric species of grasshoppers of the subfamily Gomphocerinae. Apparently, both in spittle bugs and in grasshoppers conspecific signal recognition is based primarily on the analysis of repetition period and duration of rhythmic elements, whereas fine interspecific differences in their inner structure are of little if any importance for this process.