The influence of sound spectrum on recognition of temporal pattern of cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus) song

The phonotactic steering behavior of tethered flying crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) was examined as a measure of the insect's attraction to temporal patterns of calling song at different frequencies and intensities. A stimulus with a 5 kHz carrier becomes less attractive the further its pulse repetition rate deviates from 16 pulses/s. Increasing the intensity increases selectivity for temporal pattern. At sufficiently high intensity level crickets cease to respond to stimuli with altered temporal patterns.;The response to a 30 kHz carrier demonstrates a dependency on the duration and pulse repetition rate of the stimulus. (Abstract shortened by UMI.);High frequency neurons were suspected to be behind cessation of responsiveness to stimuli with altered temporal features. This hypothesis predicts that the effect on selectivity of increasing the intensity of the 5 kHz stimulus might be mimicked by adding a high frequency to the stimulus. My results contradict this hypothesis.