Forest litter crickets prefer higher substrate moisture for oviposition: Evidence from field and lab experiments.

ABSTRACT: For insects, choosing a favorable oviposition site is a type of parental care, as far as it increases the fitness of its offspring. Niche theory predicts that crickets should show a bell-shaped oviposition response to substrate moisture. However, lab experiments with mole crickets showed a linear oviposition response to substrate moisture. Studies with the house cricket Acheta domesticus also showed a linear juvenile body growth response to water availability, thus adult ovipositing females should respond positively to substrate moisture. We used a field experiment to evaluate the relationship between oviposition preference and substrate moisture in forest litter-dwelling cricket species. We also evaluated oviposition responses to substrate moisture level in Ubiquepuella telytokous, the mo

SUBMITTER: de Farias-Martins F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5627918 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature