The sounds of silence: cessation of singing and song pausing are ultrasound-induced acoustic startle behaviors in the katydid Neoconocephalus ensiger (Orthoptera; Tettigoniidae)

Abstract Previous studies of acoustic startle in insects have dealt with behavioral and/or neural mechanisms employed in evading aerially hawking, echolocating bats; however, insects also face terrestrial predators. Here we describe an acoustic startle response of the nocturnal katydid, Neoconocephalus ensiger. Stridulating males disturbed in the field perform obvious anti-predatory behaviors – cessation of singing, freezing, jumping, and …