Auditory receptor organs in the forelegs ofGampsocleis gratiosa (Tettigoniidae): Morphology and function of the organs in comparison to the frequency parameters of the conspecific song

Are all auditory sensilla of bushcrickets bimodal? Comment on: R. D. Zhantiev and O. S. Korsunovskaya, Functions of chordotonal sensilla in bushcrickets (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae); Entomological Review, 2021, vol. 101 (6), pp. 755-766

Detection of sound and substrate vibration is crucial for the survival and reproduction of many animals, particularly insects. Bushcrickets (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), developed a large mechanosensory organ complex in their legs to detect such stimuli. As demonstrated by various studies in the past, sensilla in distinct functional groups form specialized vibratory organs (the subgenual organ and the accessory organ), respond sensitively to both vibration and sound (in the intermediate organ [IO]), or mediate hearing (in the crista acustica [CA]; the tympanal hearing organ). In their recent publication, Zhantiev and Korsunovskaya addressed auditory and vibratory sensitivity in the IO and the CA in two species of bushcrickets, using single-cell recording and staining of sensory neurons from their soma in an isolated foreleg. Their main finding was that not only the IO but also the complete CA contains bimodal sensilla responding with high sensitivity to both sound and vibration, which would be a true change in the paradigm of how the auditory/vibratory sense in Orthoptera works. In addition, they revealed vibratory tuning of the IO sensilla, which differs largely from that in previous studies. We propose three major experimental causes of such discrepancies: calibration, experiments with isolated legs, and differences in the sites of recording. To judge the causes of these discrepancies more adequately, a detailed comparison of methods and a number of control experiments are needed. This will deepen our understanding of sensory adaptations and specialization of insect mechanosensory organs to stimuli entering the system by different input pathways.

Tuned vibration modes in a miniature hearing organ: Insights from the bushcricket

Most hearing organs contain an array of sensory cells that act as miniature microphones, each tuned to its own frequency like piano strings. Acoustically communicating insects like bushcrickets have evolved miniscule hearing organs, typically smaller than 1 mm, in their forelegs. It is still unknown how the sensory structures inside the leg vibrate in response to sound. Using advanced imaging techniques, we meticulously mapped the nanovibrations in the bushcricket ear. We discovered a complex motion pattern in which structures separated by only 1/50 mm showed systematic tuning differences. Despite the insect ear’s tiny dimensions, its mode of operation strikingly resembled that of vertebrate ears. Apparently, evolution has provided similar solutions to the spectral processing of sounds.

Bushcrickets (katydids) rely on only 20 to 120 sensory units located in their forelegs to sense sound. Situated in tiny hearing organs less than 1 mm long (40× shorter than the human cochlea), they cover a wide frequency range from 1 kHz up to ultrasounds, in tonotopic order. The underlying mechanisms of this miniaturized frequency-place map are unknown. Sensory dendrites in the hearing organ (crista acustica [CA]) are hypothesized to stretch, thereby driving mechanostransduction and frequency tuning. However, this has not been experimentally confirmed. Using optical coherence tomography (OCT) vibrometry, we measured the relative motion of structures within and adjacent to the CA of the bushcricket Mecopoda elongata. We found different modes of nanovibration in the CA that have not been previously described. The two tympana and the adjacent septum of the foreleg that enclose the CA were recorded simultaneously, revealing an antiphasic lever motion strikingly reminiscent of vertebrate middle ears. Over the entire length of the CA, we were able to separate and compare vibrations of the top (cap cells) and base (dorsal wall) of the sensory tissue. The tuning of these two structures, only 15 to 60 μm (micrometer) apart, differed systematically in sharpness and best frequency, revealing a tuned periodic deformation of the CA. The relative motion of the two structures, a potential drive of transduction, demonstrated sharper tuning than either of them. The micromechanical complexity indicates that the bushcricket ear invokes multiple degrees of freedom to achieve frequency separation with a limited number of sensory cells.

The Subgenual Organ Complex in Stick Insects: Functional Morphology and Mechanical Coupling of a Complex Mechanosensory Organ

Leg chordotonal organs in insects show different adaptations to detect body movements, substrate vibrations, or airborne sound. In the proximal tibia of stick insects occur two chordotonal organs: the subgenual organ, a highly sensitive vibration receptor organ, and the distal organ, of which the function is yet unknown. The distal organ consists of a linear set of scolopidial sensilla extending in the tibia in distal direction toward the tarsus. Similar organs occur in the elaborate hearing organs in crickets and bushcrickets, where the auditory sensilla are closely associated with thin tympanal membranes and auditory trachea in the leg. Here, we document the position and attachment points for the distal organ in three species of stick insects without auditory adaptations (Ramulus artemis,Sipyloidea sipylus, andCarausius morosus). The distal organ is located in the dorsal hemolymph channel and attaches at the proximal end to the dorsal and posterior leg cuticle by tissue strands. The central part of the distal organ is placed closer to the dorsal cuticle and is suspended by fine tissue strands. The anterior part is clearly separated from the tracheae, while the distal part of the organ is placed over the anterior trachea. The distal organ is not connected to a tendon or muscle, which would indicate a proprioceptive function. The sensilla in the distal organ have dendrites oriented in distal direction in the leg. This morphology does not reveal obvious auditory adaptations as in tympanal organs, while the position in the hemolymph channel and the direction of dendrites indicate responses to forces in longitudinal direction of the leg, likely vibrational stimuli transmitted in the leg’s hemolymph. The evolutionary convergence of complex chordotonal organs with linear sensilla sets between tympanal hearing organs and atympanate organs in stick insects is emphasized by the different functional morphologies and sensory specializations.

Experimental and Theoretical Explorations of Traveling Waves and Tuning in the Bushcricket Ear

The ability to detect airborne sound is essential for many animals. Examples from the inner ear of mammals and bushcrickets demonstrate that similar detection strategies evolved in taxonomically distant species. Both mammalian and bushcricket ears possess a narrow strip of sensory tissue that exhibits an anatomical gradient and traveling wave motion responses used for frequency discrimination. We measured pressure and motion in the bushcricket ear to investigate physical properties, stiffness, and mass, which govern the mechanical responses to sound. As in the mammalian cochlea, sound-induced fluid pressure and motion responses were tonotopically organized along the longitudinal axis of the crista acustica, the bushcricket's hearing organ. The fluid pressure at the crista and crista motion were used to calculate the acoustic impedance of the organ-bounded fluid mass (Z_mass). We used a theoretical wave analysis of wavelength data from a previous study to predict the crista acustica stiffness. The wave analysis also predicts Z_mass, and that result agreed reasonably well with the directly measured Z_mass, lending support to the theoretical wave analysis. The magnitude of the crista stiffness was similar to basilar membrane stiffness in mammals, and as in mammals, the stiffness decreased from the high-frequency to the low-frequency region. At a given location, the stiffness increased with increasing frequency, corresponding to increasing curvature of the traveling wave (decreasing wavelength), indicating that longitudinal coupling plays a substantial role in determining crista stiffness. This is in contrast to the mammalian ear, in which stiffness is independent of frequency and longitudinal coupling is relatively small.

The complex tibial organ of the New Zealand ground weta: sensory adaptations for vibrational signal detection

In orthopteran insects, a complex tibial organ has evolved to detect substrate vibrations and/or airborne sound. Species of New Zealand weta (Anostostomatidae) with tympanal ears on the foreleg tibia use this organ to communicate by sound, while in atympanate species (which communicate by substrate drumming) the organ is unstudied. We investigated the complex tibial organ of the atympanate ground weta, Hemiandrus pallitarsis, for vibration detection adaptations. This system contains four sensory components (subgenual organ, intermediate organ, crista acustica homolog, accessory organ) in all legs, together with up to 90 scolopidial sensilla. Microcomputed tomography shows that the subgenual organ spans the hemolymph channel, with attachments suggesting that hemolymph oscillations displace the organ in a hinged-plate fashion. Subgenual sensilla are likely excited by substrate oscillations transmitted within the leg. Instead of the usual suspension within the middle of the tibial cavity, we show that the intermediate organ and crista acustica homolog comprise a cellular mass broadly attached to the anterior tibial wall. They likely detect cuticular vibrations, and not airborne sound. This atympanate complex tibial organ shows elaborate structural changes suggesting detection of vibrational stimuli by parallel input pathways, thus correlating well with the burrowing lifestyle and communication by substrate-transmitted vibration.

Processing of simple and complex acoustic signals in a tonotopically organized ear

Processing of complex signals in the hearing organ remains poorly understood. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by presenting investigations on the mechanical and neuronal response of the hearing organ of the tropical bushcricket species Mecopoda elongata to simple pure tone signals as well as to the conspecific song as a complex acoustic signal. The high-frequency hearing organ of bushcrickets, the crista acustica (CA), is tonotopically tuned to frequencies between about 4 and 70 kHz. Laser Doppler vibrometer measurements revealed a strong and dominant low-frequency-induced motion of the CA when stimulated with either pure tone or complex stimuli. Consequently, the high-frequency distal area of the CA is more strongly deflected by low-frequency-induced waves than by high-frequency-induced waves. This low-frequency dominance will have strong effects on the processing of complex signals. Therefore, we additionally studied the neuronal response of the CA to native and frequency-manipulated chirps. Again, we found a dominant influence of low-frequency components within the conspecific song, indicating that the mechanical vibration pattern highly determines the neuronal response of the sensory cells. Thus, we conclude that the encoding of communication signals is modulated by ear mechanics.

The subgenual organ complex in the cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae): comparative innervation and sensory evolution

Comparative studies of the organization of nervous systems and sensory organs can reveal their evolution and specific adaptations. In the forelegs of some Ensifera (including crickets and tettigoniids), tympanal hearing organs are located in close proximity to the mechanosensitive subgenual organ (SGO). In the present study, the SGO complex in the non-hearing cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus (Rhaphidophoridae) is investigated for the neuronal innervation pattern and for organs homologous to the hearing organs in related taxa. We analyse the innervation pattern of the sensory organs (SGO and intermediate organ (IO)) and its variability between individuals. In T. neglectus, the IO consists of two major groups of closely associated sensilla with different positions. While the distal-most sensilla superficially resemble tettigoniid auditory sensilla in location and orientation, the sensory innervation does not show these two groups to be distinct organs. Though variability in the number of sensory nerve branches occurs, usually either organ is supplied by a single nerve branch. Hence, no sensory elements clearly homologous to the auditory organ are evident. In contrast to other non-hearing Ensifera, the cave cricket sensory structures are relatively simple, consistent with a plesiomorphic organization resembling sensory innervation in grasshoppers and stick insects.

Spatial organization of tettigoniid auditory receptors: insights from neuronal tracing

The auditory sense organ of Tettigoniidae (Insecta, Orthoptera) is located in the foreleg tibia and consists of scolopidial sensilla which form a row termed crista acustica. The crista acustica is associated with the tympana and the auditory trachea. This ear is a highly ordered, tonotopic sensory system. As the neuroanatomy of the crista acustica has been documented for several species, the most distal somata and dendrites of receptor neurons have occasionally been described as forming an alternating or double row. We investigate the spatial arrangement of receptor cell bodies and dendrites by retrograde tracing with cobalt chloride solution. In six tettigoniid species studied, distal receptor neurons are consistently arranged in double-rows of somata rather than a linear sequence. This arrangement of neurons is shown to affect 30-50% of the overall auditory receptors. No strict correlation of somata positions between the anterio-posterior and dorso-ventral axis was evident within the distal crista acustica. Dendrites of distal receptors occasionally also occur in a double row or are even massed without clear order. Thus, a substantial part of auditory receptors can deviate from a strictly straight organization into a more complex morphology. The linear organization of dendrites is not a morphological criterion that allows hearing organs to be distinguished from nonhearing sense organs serially homologous to ears in all species. Both the crowded arrangement of receptor somata and dendrites may result from functional constraints relating to frequency discrimination, or from developmental constraints of auditory morphogenesis in postembryonic development.

Sound-induced tympanal membrane motion in bushcrickets and its relationship to sensory output

In the auditory system of bushcrickets, sound can reach the receptors via two different paths: (i) by acting on the outside of the tympana situated on both sides of each foreleg or (ii) through the acoustic trachea that opens at a spiracle on the thorax. While the spiracle is considered to be the main point of sound entry for higher audio and ultrasonic frequencies, the role of the tympana is still unclear. The tympana border the air-filled acoustic trachea as well as the fluid-filled haemolymph channel containing the receptor organs. To understand their role during sound transduction, the sound-induced neuronal response of the hearing organ was recorded in combination with measurement of tympanal membrane motion using laser-Doppler vibrometry. For far-field stimulation, the frequency of the most sensitive hearing (∼16 kHz) matched the frequency of a pronounced maximum of tympanal membrane vibration. A second maximum of tympanum motion at lower frequencies (∼7 kHz) was correlated with an increased nerve activity at higher intensities (>70 dB sound pressure level, SPL). These correlations support the hypothesis of functional coupling between tympanum motion and nerve activity. When sound stimuli were applied locally, through either the tympanum or the spiracle, significant differences between tympanum motion and nerve activity were found. These discrepancies show that tympanum motion and neuronal response are not coupled directly and that there is no linear relationship with the applied SPL. Taken together, these data verify a functional, albeit indirect, coupling of tympanum motion and sensory cell activity for one of the pronounced vibration maxima, which appears to represent a resonance frequency of the tympanum.

Increase in song frequency decreases spermatophore size: correlative evidence of a macroevolutionary trade-off in katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

In many katydids, the male feeds his mate with a large gelatinous spermatophore. Males of most species also produce elaborate calling songs. We predicted a negative relationship between spermatophore size and call frequency because of trade-offs between these two costly traits. Our comparative analysis controlling phylogeny and body size supported this prediction. Although call frequency is expected to decrease with increasing body size, after controlling for phylogeny, both variables were not related. Finally, given that song frequency and spermatophore size are likely targets of sexual selection, we examined the relationship between these variables and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) which can be influenced by sexual selection on body size. We found that only female body size was positively related to SSD, suggesting that natural and/or sexual selection on female body size may be stronger than sexual selection on male and spermatophore size.

Listening for males and bats: spectral processing in the hearing organ of Neoconocephalus bivocatus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

Tettigoniids use hearing for mate finding and the avoidance of predators (mainly bats). Using intracellular recordings, we studied the response properties of auditory receptor cells of Neoconocephalus bivocatus to different sound frequencies, with a special focus on the frequency ranges representative of male calls and bat cries. We found several response properties that may represent adaptations for hearing in both contexts. Receptor cells with characteristic frequencies close to the dominant frequency of the communication signal were more broadly tuned, thus extending their range of high sensitivity. This increases the number of cells responding to the dominant frequency of the male call at low signal amplitudes, which should improve long distance call localization. Many cells tuned to audio frequencies had intermediate thresholds for ultrasound. As a consequence, a large number of receptors should be recruited at intermediate amplitudes of bat cries. This collective response of many receptors may function to emphasize predator information in the sensory system, and correlates with the amplitude range at which ultrasound elicits evasive behavior in tettigoniids. We compare our results with spectral processing in crickets, and discuss that both groups evolved different adaptations for the perceptual tasks of mate and predator detection.

Complex tibial organs in fore-, mid-, and hindlegs of the bushcricket Gampsocleis gratiosa (Tettigoniidae): Comparison of morphology of the organs

The structure of the complex tibial organs in the fore-, mid-, and hindlegs of the East Asian bushcricket Gampsocleis gratiosa (Tettigoniidae, Decticinae) is described comparatively. In each leg the tibial organs consist of three scolopale organs: the subgenual organ, the intermediate organ, and the crista acoustica. Only in the forelegs are the tibial organs differentiated as tympanal organs, and sound transmitting structures (acoustic trachea, tympana, and tympanal covers) are present. The morphology of the tracheae in the mid- and hindlegs is significantly different from that found in the forelegs. The number of scolopidia in the subgenual organ is highest in the midleg and lowest in the foreleg; in the intermediate organ the number is also highest in the midleg, and the fore- and hindleg contain 40% fewer scolopidia. In the crista acoustica, the number of scolopidia decreases from, the fore- to the mid- and hindlegs. The morphology and the dimensions of the scolopidia and the attachment structures within the crista acoustica of the mid- and hindlegs differ strongly from those in the foreleg. The results indicate that, in addition to the presence of a sound transmitting system, the specific differentiations within the crista acoustica are important for the high auditory sensitivity of the tibial organs in the forelegs. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Processing of auditory information in insects

Insects exhibit an astonishing diversity in the design of their ears and the subsequent processing of information within their auditory pathways. The aim of this review is to summarize and compare the present concepts of auditory processing by relating behavioral performance to known neuronal mechanisms. We focus on three general aspects, that is frequency, directional, and temporal processing. The first part compares the capacity (in some insects high) for frequency analysis in the ear with the rather low specificity of tuning in interneurons by looking at Q10dB values and frequency dependent inhibition of interneurons. Since sharpening of frequency does not seem to be the prime task of a set of differently tuned receptors, alternative hypotheses are discussed. Moreover, the physiological correspondence between tonotopic projections of receptors and dendritic organization of interneurons is not in all cases strong. The second part is concerned with directional hearing and thus with the ability for angular resolution of insects. The present concepts, as derived from behavioral performances, for angular resolution versus lateralization and serial versus parallel processing of directional and pattern information can be traced to the thoracic level of neuronal processing. Contralateral inhibition, a mechanism for enhancing directional tuning, appears to be most effective in parallel pathways, whereas in serial processing it may have detrimental effects on pattern processing. The third part, after some considerations of signal analysis in the temporal domain, demonstrates that closely related species often use different combinations of temporal parameters in their recognition systems. On the thoracic level, analysis of temporal modulation functions and effects of inhibition on spiking patterns reveals relatively simple processing, whereas brain neurons may exhibit more complex properties.

The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insects

Insects are capable of detecting a broad range of acoustic signals transmitted through air, water, or solids. Auditory sensory organs are morphologically diverse with respect to their body location, accessory structures, and number of sensilla, but remarkably uniform in that most are innervated by chordotonal organs. Chordotonal organs are structurally complex Type I mechanoreceptors that are distributed throughout the insect body and function to detect a wide range of mechanical stimuli, from gross motor movements to air-borne sounds. At present, little is known about how chordotonal organs in general function to convert mechanical stimuli to nerve impulses, and our limited understanding of this process represents one of the major challenges to the study of insect auditory systems today. This report reviews the literature on chordotonal organs innervating insect ears, with the broad intention of uncovering some common structural specializations of peripheral auditory systems, and identifying new avenues for research. A general overview of chordotonal organ ultrastructure is presented, followed by a summary of the current theories on mechanical coupling and transduction in monodynal, mononematic, Type 1 scolopidia, which characteristically innervate insect ears. Auditory organs of different insect taxa are reviewed, focusing primarily on tympanal organs, and with some consideration to Johnston's and subgenual organs. It is widely accepted that insect hearing organs evolved from pre-existing proprioceptive chordotonal organs. In addition to certain non-neural adaptations for hearing, such as tracheal expansion and cuticular thinning, the chordotonal organs themselves may have intrinsic specializations for sound reception and transduction, and these are discussed. In the future, an integrated approach, using traditional anatomical and physiological techniques in combination with new methodologies in immunohistochemistry, genetics, and biophysics, will assist in refining hypotheses on how chordotonal organs function, and, ultimately, lead to new insights into the peripheral mechanisms underlying hearing in insects.

Somatotopic mapping of chordotonal organ neurons in a primitive ensiferan, the New Zealand tree weta Hemideina femorata: II. complex tibial organ

Most ensiferan insects possess sets of highly specialized chordotonal organs in the proximal tibiae to detect conspecific auditory/vibratory signals or approach of predators. To date, most auditory/vibratory afferents have been classified according to their physiological properties and axonal projection morphology, but not to somatotopic origins. Hence, the functional specialization of identified receptor cells in the tibial organs remains uncertain. To address this question from an anatomical aspect, we investigated the structure of the weta, Hemideina femorata, tibial organs (the most elaborated tibial chordotonal organs among ensiferans) and their central projections by staining small numbers of receptor afferents from identified tibial organs. These organs comprise the "complex tibial organ," including the subgenual organ (primary vibration detector) and its posterior complement, the accessory organ, and the crista acustica (primary auditory organ) and its proximal complement, the intermediate organ. Unlike reports of a membranous organ structure for homologs in other ensiferans, weta tibial organs contain receptor cells embedded in thick solid masses. Primary afferents project ipsilaterally to the medial ventral association center of thoracic ganglia, where axon terminals are arrayed topographically in different areas specific to each organ, except for almost complete overlap of afferents originating from the distal part of the crista acustica and from the intermediate organ. In contrast to somatotopic reflection of sensilla position on limbs, as known for mechanoreceptor hairs, the somatotopic projection map of the insect ear reveals topographic association with acoustic tracheae or tibial cuticular attachment sites, which in turn must reflect determinants of response sensitivity (e.g., frequency or threshold).

Song recognition in female bushcrickets Phaneroptera nana

Unlike most acoustic systems evolved for pair formation, in which only males signal, in many species of phaneropterine bushcrickets both sexes sing, producing a duet. We used the duetting species Phaneroptera nana as a model to explore the cues in the male's song that elicit the female's phonoresponse. Different synthetic male songs (chirps containing 2–6 pulses) were presented to Ph. nana females, and their acoustic responses were recorded. The threshold of the female response is lowest at 16 kHz (best frequency), coinciding with the dominant frequency of the male song. The specific amplitude pattern of consecutive pulses in the song of the male is not a critical factor in his signal. That is, songs with both a normal and a reversed order of pulses equally elicit a female response. By systematically deleting pulses from the synthetic male chirp, we found that at least two pulses are needed to elicit a female reply. Under no-choice conditions, increasing the number of pulses did not result in a higher probability of response and did not change the latency of the response; i.e. two pulses are necessary and sufficient to elicit a female response. The range of pulse duration that elicits a female response is 0.2-25 ms, and the inter-pulse silent interval ranges from 5 to 30 ms.

Picrotoxin eliminates frequency selectivity of an auditory interneuron in a bushcricket

AN1, an auditory interneuron in the bushcricket Ancistrura nigrovittata, is narrowly tuned to the male song frequency ( approximately 15 kHz). It receives pronounced inhibitory input at frequencies below and, more prominently, above this fundamental frequency. It is also subject to side-dependent inhibition producing asymmetric response functions for left- and right-side stimulation. In addition, intensity-response functions of AN1 peak as stimulus intensities increase. Application of the GABAA channel-blocker picrotoxin eliminates all subthreshold inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, revealing underlying excitation that is particularly obvious in the high-frequency range. Excitatory thresholds close to the song frequency remain unchanged by picrotoxin. Thus a specifically tuned neuron is shown to become broadly tuned after elimination of frequency-dependent inhibition. Although average maximum response strength is increased by 150% after picrotoxin application, at male song frequencies a slight reduction of the responses is still present at high intensities. Side-dependent inhibition remains largely unaffected by picrotoxin, suggesting that side- and frequency-dependent inhibitions are caused by different transmitters from different neurons.

Stimulus transmission in the auditory receptor organs of the foreleg of bushcrickets (Tettigoniidae) I. The role of the tympana

The auditory organs of the tettigoniid are located just below the femoral tibial joint in the forelegs. Structurally each auditory organ consists of a tonotopically organized crista acustica and intermediate organ and associated sound conducting structures; an acoustic trachea and two lateral tympanic membranes located at the level of the receptor complex. The receptor cells and associated satellite structures are located in a channel filled with hemolymph fluid. The vibratory response characteristics of the tympanic membranes generated by sound stimulation over the frequency range 2-40 kHz have been studied using laser vibrometry. The acoustic trachea was found to be the principal structure through which sound energy reached the tympana. The velocity of propagation down the trachea was observed to be independent of the frequency and appreciably lower than the velocity of sound in free space. Structurally the tympana are found to be partially in contact with the air in the trachea and with the hemolymph in the channel containing the receptor cells. The two tympana were found to oscillate in phase, with a broad band frequency response, have linear coherent response characteristics and small time constant. Higher modes of vibration were not observed. Measurements of the pattern of vibration of the tympana showed that these structures vibrate as hinged flaps rather than vibrating stretched membranes. These findings, together with the morphology of the organ and physiological data from the receptor cells, suggest the possibility of an impedance matching function for the tympana in the transmission of acoustic energy to the receptor cells in the tettigoniid ear.

The auditory-vibratory system of the bushcricket Polysarcus denticauda (Phaneropterinae, Tettigoniidae). I. Morphology of the complex tibial organs

The structure of the complex tibial organs in the fore-, mid- and hindlegs of the bushcricket Polysarcus denticauda (Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae) is described comparatively. As is common for bushcrickets, in each leg the tibial organs consist of the subgenual and intermediate organs and the crista acustica. Only in the forelegs are sound-transmitting structures present. They consist of the spiracle, acoustic trachea, and two tympana; the latter are not protected by tympanal covers. The tympana in P. denticauda are extremely thick, not only bordering the two tracheal branches to the outside but also forming the outer wall of the hemolymph channel. The morphology of the tracheae in the mid- and hindlegs is significantly different, causing structural differences, especially in dimensions of the hemolymph channel. The number of scolopidia of the crista acustica of the foreleg is extremely high for a bushcricket. Approximately 50 receptor cells were found, about half of them being located in the distal quarter of the long axis of this organ. Some of the receptors are positioned in parallel on the dorsal wall of the anterior tracheal branch. The number, morphology and dimensions of the scolopidia within the crista acustica of the mid- and hindlegs differ significantly from those of the forelegs, decreasing in both legs to eight and seven receptor cells, respectively. Although the dimensions of the subgenual and intermediate organs are considerably larger in the mid- and hindlegs, the number of receptor cells is approximately the same in the different legs, being somewhat higher in both receptor organs than in those of many other bushcricket species studied previously.

Similar structural dimensions in bushcricket auditory organs in spite of different foreleg size: consequences for auditory tuning

The bushcricket species Decticus albifrons, Decticus verrucivorus and Pholidoptera griseoaptera (Tettigoniidae) belong to the same subfamily (Decticinae) but differ significantly in body size. In spite of the great differences in the dimensions of the forelegs, where the auditory organs are located, the most sensitive range of the hearing threshold lies between 6 and 25 kHz in each case. Only in the frequency range from 2 to 5 kHz and above 25 kHz, significant differences are present. The anatomy of the auditory receptor organs was compared quantitatively, using the techniques of semi-thin sectioning and computer-guided morphometry. The overall number of scolopidia and the length of the crista acustica differs in the three species, but the relative distribution of scolopidia along the crista acustica is very similar. Additionally, the scolopidia and their attachment structures (tectorial membrane, dorsal tracheal wall, cap cells) are of equal size at equivalent relative positions along the crista acustica. The results indicate that the constant relations and dimensions of corresponding structures within the cristae acusticae of the three species are responsible for the similarities in the tuning of the auditory thresholds.