ot only a listener: female frog-biting midges (Corethrellidae) also distinguish the shape of frog

Author(s)

da Silva, Fernando Rodrigues ^[1] ; Bosco Breviglieri, Crasso Paulo ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Lab Ecol Teor Integrando Tempo Biol & Espaco LETI, Campus Sorocaba, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY; v. 37, n. 3, p. 157-160, MAY 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

It is well known that female adults of frog-biting midges (Corethrellidae) are attracted by anuran mating calls. However, the role of host-emitted cues other than mating calls in determining the level of attraction remains poorly understood. Here, we performed field playback experiments to test how the host-seeking behaviour of Corethrella Coquillett is influenced by different sound stimuli: mating call of a tree frog, cricket call, and no sound. Then, after long-distance host detection, we evaluated if Corethrella can distinguish landing sites by using at short distance the colour and/or shape of anurans. For that, we placed artificial models of frogs with different colours (light green and dark brown) and an artificial caterpillar model (light green colour) on the top of speakers. We found that only frog mating calls presented with the visual cue of an artificial frog were attacked by Corethrella, suggesting that frog shape, regardless of colour, is an important cue for the identification of its hosts. This is the first study providing evidence that after flying long distances guided by frog calls, Corethrella can identify their hosts using visual cues at short distances. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50714-0 - Influence of ecological and evolutionary processes in structuring amphibian communities at different spatial and temporal scales
• Grantee: Fernando Rodrigues da Silva
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants