Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-152). / Microfiche. / xx, 297 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

The holomorphology of ll life stages of 20 western Nearctic Isoperla and one Cascadoperla was studied over the 3-year period 1975-1978. One monotypicgenus new to science, Cascadoperla, is described, and Cascadoperla tricture (Hoppe) designated as the type species. The nymph, adult male and female, and ova are described and illustrated.

No description available.

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. / 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. / The response to a 30 kHz carrier demonstrates a dependency on the duration and pulse repetition rate of the stimulus.

No description available.

No description available.

Drumming behavior is described for the first time in 33 North American Plecoptera species, and signals of an additional five species, Pteronarcys pictetii, Acroneuria abnormis, Paragnetina media, Clioperla clio and Isogenoides zionensis, are further detailed. An out-group comparison of behavioral characters in all 104 world species whose drumming is known showed that the behavior is more advanced in the Arctoperlaria Group Systellognatha than in the Group Euholognatha. In general, tapping, monophasy, touching, sequenced exchange and less than 50 taps/answer are ancestral states, and rubbing, grouping, phasing, tremulation, interspersed exchange and equal or more than 50 taps/answer are derived states. There has been some co-evolution between abdominal structure and drumming behavior. Scanning Electron Micrographs of 30 species showed that the primitive state of tapping is ascociated with three classes of abdominal structure: (1) absence of derived structures, (2) lobes or vesicles, and (3) hammers. The derived behavior of rubbing, however, occurs only in species with derived structures, and is predominant in species having vesicles and hammers. Drumming can be used as a line of evidence to aid in defining genera and species, since the behavior has a variable degree of specificity or exclusiveness in all species, particularly in groups of species I have studied in the genera Isoperla, Pteronarcys and Taeniopteryx. Typical and variant computer-synthesized male calls of three stonefly species were tested with live females. They responded at high levels in such a way that the important informational content conveyed was identified as: (1) a minimal threshold of beat numbers, and (2) a discriminant window of beat intervals. Rub frequency and bibeat calling were critical informational parameters in two species.

Drumming is first described for five North American stonefly species, Acroneuria evoluta, Doroneuria baumanni, Isoperla namata, Chernokrilus misnomus, and Pictetiella expansa. Signals of Acroneuria lycorias, Phasganophora capitata and Isoperla signata are further described. Drumming was not recorded from Amhinemura delosa. Signals of A. evoluta are the most complex yet recorded in Plecoptera. Doroneuria baumanni, P. expanse, C. misnomus and P. capitata have 2-way exchanges. Male D. baumanni produce two prolonged beats by rubbing the hammer on the substratum; male-female signals are non-overlapping in the first two species and overlapping in the latter two. Female P. capitata answered with an unusually long sequence of beats. Two male Isoperla species produced monophasic calls without female answers. Female A. lycorias answered taped male signals with monophasic signals like all observed females.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Supervisor: Michael J. Ryan. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-219). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.