The tympanal trachea as an integral part of the ear in acripeza reticulata guerin (orthoptera, tettigonioidea)

Abstract

Abstract The functional role of the large trachea which runs from a spiracle in the thorax down the leg (tympanal trachea) was analysed in relation to the tympanal organ. The tympanal trachea not only tunes the tympanal organ to a certain frequency (Fig. 1) but is important for the directional sense of hearing in the whole animal. The directional sensitivity of the ear depends only on the relative positions of the spiracle of the tympanal trachea and the direction of sound (Fig. 2), irrespective of the foreleg walking position