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Not only a listener: female frog-biting midges (Corethrellidae) also distinguish the shape of frogs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2021

Fernando Rodrigues da Silva Open the ORCID record for Fernando Rodrigues da Silva [Opens in a new window]  and
Crasso Paulo Bosco Breviglieri Open the ORCID record for Crasso Paulo Bosco Breviglieri [Opens in a new window]
Fernando Rodrigues da Silva*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia Teórica: Integrando Tempo, Biologia e Espaço (LET.IT.BE), Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, campus Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
Crasso Paulo Bosco Breviglieri
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Fernando Rodrigues da Silva, Email: fernandors@ufscar.br
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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.

Keywords

anuranbiotic interactionsCorethrellaeavesdroppinghost seekingneotropical
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , May 2021 , pp. 157 - 160
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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