Central Neural Processing of Sound Signals in Insects

Abstract

Vibrational communication is widespread in insects, yet scientists are only beginning to appreciate the importance and complexity of this communication channel. Substrate vibrations are widely available to insects living on plants, sand, soil, leaf litter, or fabricated materials such as beehives, termite mounds, or silk. Sources of vibrations important to insects may be abiotic (e.g., wind, rain) or biotic (e.g., signals or cues arising from conspecifi cs, predators, and even plants). This chapter focuses primarily on insects and specifi cally on adults that exploit plant- borne vibrations, refl ecting most of the research to date. Some consideration is paid to other invertebrates such as spiders and scorpions, as well as juvenile stages such as eggs, larvae, and pupae. Topics covered include the diversity of taxa exploiting substrate-borne vibrations, the complexity of their vibratory environments, and the multitude of ways that vibrations are generated and used in social communication, fi nding food, avoiding predators, and monitoring the environment. Vibratory sense organs, including subgenual organs, lyriform organs, and Johnston’s organs and their constituent mechanosensilla are described. The vibratory landscape of insects and other invertebrates is poorly documented for most taxa, and all lines of investi- gation, from “identifying the players” to understanding how complex vibratory sig- nals are detected and processed to recognize and localize sources, are unchartered territories ripe for further investigation.