ABSTRACT
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 305
Signals and Mating Behaviour ................................................................................................... 307
Discovery of Mating Signals in Membracids ....................................................................... 307
Diversity in Mate Advertisement Signals ............................................................................. 307
Signal Reception and Receiver Preferences in Membracids ................................................ 309
Diversity in Mating Systems ................................................................................................. 310
Mating Signals and Speciation in the Enchenopa binotata Complex .................................. 311
Signals and Group Living .......................................................................................................... 312
Functions of Social Signalling ............................................................................................... 312
Diversity in Social Signals .................................................................................................... 314
Signal Production Mechanisms .................................................................................................. 314
Vibratory Communication in the Field ...................................................................................... 315
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 317
Few insect families are as diverse in morphology, behaviour and ecology as the membracid
treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae). Studies of communication in membracids are uncovering
a correspondingly rich variety of signals, transmitted in the form of substrate-borne vibrations. In
this chapter we summarise what we have learned about vibratory communication in treehoppers,
drawing on the small but growing literature and on our own recordings and observations of
temperate and tropical species. We highlight aspects of their biology that contribute to an
impressive diversity in communication signals. Membracids offer promising opportunities for
studying the use of signals in cooperation and competition within social groups, the importance of
signal divergence in the process of speciation and the evolution of communication systems.
