Secret Reception Insect Information

Text by Ben Pagac, drawings by Kristine Diekman and Tony Allard

Horned Passalus Beetle (Odontolaenius disjunctus)

Males produce sound by stridulation. They rub a plectrum on the ventral surface of the wings against a pars stridens of the 6th abdominal tergite (similar to a teeth and comb). Their reception organs have not been fully characterized but are thought to be similar to other beetles (e.g., scarabs) as paired tympanal ears behind the head. These live in rotten logs, digest cellulose with the help of gut symbionts, are highly social, and even show care for their young. They have a complex array of sounds to communicate many different things.

Water Boatman (Corixidae, spp unk)

Males stridulate by rubbing a terminal appendage (i.e., genetalia) against a striated terminal segment of the abdomen. Little is known about how they receive sound, but one species (Corixa punctate) has been studied in detail and has a round tympanal membrane on the lateral mesothorax, between the forewing and the leg. A large club-shaped cuticular structure extends outward from the membrane. The acoustic cells on the left and right are asymmetrical in their tuning and thresholds. This is thought to accommodate changes in resonance properties while the animal is diving. (Prager, J., 1976; Prager, J. and Larson, O.N., 1981). This insect is found in fresh water ponds and when populations are large, can be quite audible to the human ear. The sound is involved in mating. The sound file used in this project was recorded by David Rothenberg and was used with his permission.

Bumble Bee (Bombus spp.)

Females produce sound via wing vibrations. They receive sound most likely by their antennae, possibly via Johnson’s and Janet’s organs. They also likely detect sound energy via their body hairs. They are thought to communicate to other bees in the colony the character of nearby pollen and nectar sources via the degree of vigor in their wing beats.

Periodical Cicada (Magicicada spp.)

Males produce sound via paired tymbals located under their wings, on their thorax. They receive sound via paired tympanic ears located on the underside of the second abdominal segment. These charismatic insects emerge from the ground in mass, species-specific, and regional-specific broods, after long periods (e.g., every 13 or 17 years). After transitioning from the nymphal to adult stage, the males’ loud, synchronous chorusing attract females during a fairly short (weeks long) mating period.

Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa)

Males produce sound by constricting their abdomen and forcing air through their spiracles (breathing holes) located along the abdomen sides. Some species of cockroaches, both males and females, detect sound energy by sensory hairs on their cerci (appendages on their tail end). Some cockroaches also have sound-detecting hairs on their legs. These cockroaches live in leaf litter and rotten logs in forested areas of Madagascar. The hissing sound is often used when males pugilistically compete for females and to express alarm or agitation. 

Katydid (Pterophylia camellipholia)

Males produce sound by stridulation. They rub together a lobe of the margin of the right forewing (scraper) engages with a tooth-covered file on the left forewing. They hear with an organ on the joint of their forelegs called an acoustic trachea. Katydids aggregate in the Mid-Atlantic deciduous treetops mid-summer creating a loud, cacophonous chorus integral to the mating process. They chorus after the sun sets, being given a complimentary “hand-off” by the cicadas which chorus during the day. K

Mosquito (Aedes solicitans)

Females produce species-specific sound frequencies via wing vibrations. Males receive these sound impulses via sensilla on the antennae and the Johnston’s organ located in the second basal antennal segment. This organ has been called the most complex mechanosensitive organ yet found in insects. In many mosquito species, males emerge from their aquatic stages synchronously, ahead of the female emergence. They then wait for the females to emerge, to mate en mass.

Parasitic Wasp (Cotesia marginivientris)

Males produce sound via wing vibrations. They receive sound via a chordotonal organ located at the base of the antennae (Johnson’s organ) and in between their antennal segment (Janet’s organ). This is a microscopic braconid parasitoid that creates a complex sound as part of the mating process. It parasitizes the larva of the fruit fly and so has been the subject of research due to its potential as a beneficial biocontrol agent. Since the sound it produces is above 20K Hz and not in the normal audible range of humans, the sound used here has been pitched down.