Mating Behavior of Nemobiine Crickets: Hygronemobius, Nemobius, and Pteronemobius (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Pteronemobius females mount and briefly couple genitalia with males that have not yet formed spermatophores. This preliminary mounting, previously unreported for Pteronemobius and unique among Gryllidae, is prerequisite for spermatophore production in each mating sequence. The female mounts and couples genitalia with the male a second time and receives the spermatophore. The two remain coupled for an extended period while the female feeds on specialized tibial spurs of the male. This sequence is basically the same for 10 species in 3 subgenera as follows: (Allonemobius) ambitiosus species complex 3 spp., fasciatus, sparsalsus; (Neonemobius) cubensis, nr. mormonius Florida, nr. mormonius So. California; (Eunemobius carolinus, melodius. The mating pattern of Pteronemobius is interpreted as derivative from one like Nemobius sylvestris where males form and pass a small spermatophore prior to a much larger one. After each spermatophore is passed the female often feeds on a glandular area at the base of the male's tegmen. Mating in Hygronemobius alleni is no more complex than in most other gryllids: courtship is brief, a full-sized spermatophore is passed during the first mounting, and behavior after spermatophore tube insertion involves no mouthing of special glandular areas and no continued coupling.