Influence of the courtship song of the acridid grasshopper Gomphocerus rufus L. on the female

Summary

Males of the acridid species Gomphocerus rufus L. perform unusually long courtship. Following their imaginal molt, the behavior of the females changes in three stages: initial rejection of the males, passive acceptance without singing, and active attraction of a mate by singing. Females in the active state permit copulation after brief courtship or even without it.

To understand the function of long courtship, two hypotheses are tested by the present experiments. Hypothesis A assumes that the long courtship of the male affects the female so as to accelerate entry into the active mating state. This is not the case: Females raised in isolation enter the active state at the same time as those that have been exposed to courtship continually. Hypothesis B assumes that the long courtship changes the behavior of a female still in the passive state to enable earlier copulation. This hypothesis is tested by longterm recording of the locomotor and singing activity of the female in the presence of a courting male. The records show that the locomotor activity of a female in the passively acceptant state is significantly reduced during male courtship. Moreover, males in the presence of a passively acceptant female court longer than when the female is in either of the two other states.

It appears, therefore, that the unusually long courtship serves to keep the female near the male for a longer period of time, increasing the chance of copulation. The advantages and disadvantages of this courtship strategy are compared with those of searching for a female in the active state.