Acoustically‐orienting parasitoids in calling and silent males of the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus

On three Hawaiian Islands, the introduced Australasian field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus Le Guillou (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) was found to be attacked by the phonotactic parasitoid tachinid fly, Ormia ochracea Bigot. Noncalling males occurred with callers in all locations, but silent males were more heavily parasitized than callers. Body size was unrelated to both calling status and the likelihood of harbouring parasitoid larvae. An experiment examining the likelihood of calling in the laboratory by males collected as silent or calling individuals showed no difference between the two classes of males, after accounting for parasitoid levels; males harbouring larvae were less likely to call.