The complete mitogenome of the Chinese bush cricket,Gampsocleis gratiosa(Orthoptera:Tettigonioidea)

The complete mitochondrial genome （mitogenome） of Gampsocleis gratiosa was determined. The 15,929 bp in the size of G. gratiosa mitogenome contains a typical gene content, base composition, and codon usage found in metazoan. All 13 protein coding genes （PCGs） of the G gratiosa mitogenome start with a typical ATN codon. The usual termination codons （TAA and TAG） were found from 10 PCGs. However, the atp6, had4, and had5 had incomplete termination codon （T）. The anticodons of all tRNAs are identical to those observed in Drosophila yakuba and Locusta migratoria, and can be folded in the form of a typical clover leaf structure except for trnS （AGN）. The secondary structure of trnS （AGN） was drawn according with the Steinberg-Cedergren tertiary structure. The A＋T content （67.4%） of the A＋T-rich region is relatively lower among the mitogenome regions, in contrast, it usually contains the highest A＋T content for most insects. Two isolated sequence repeat regions （202 bp） were found in the A＋T-rich region with mapping and secondary structure information.

Tribological Behavior of Gampsocleis Gratiosa Foot Pad Against Vertical Flat Surfaces

Some tribological behavior between mature Gampsocleis gratiosa foot pads and vertical flats of different materials were studied in this work. stereomicroscope （SMS） and scanning electron microscope （SEM） were used to measure the morphology of the Gampsocleis gratiosa foot pads. An atomic force microscope （AFM） was used to measure the morphologies of the surfaces of glass and a wall doped with calcium carbonate material. The attaching behavior of Gampsocleis gratiosa feet on the two vertical surfaces was observed. The attaching force （perpendicular to the vertical surface） and the static frictional force （along the direction of gravitation） of Gampsocleis gratiosa foot pads on a vertical glass were measured. It was shown that the average attaching force is 50.59 mN and the static frictional force is 259.10 mN. The physical models of the attaching interface between Gampsocleis gratiosa foot pads and the two vertical surfaces were proposed. It was observed that the foot pads are smooth in macroscale; however, the pad surface is composed by approximate hexagonal units with sizes of 3 μm to 7 μm in microscale; the adjacent units are separated by nanoscale grooves. The Observations showed that the Gampsocleis gratiosa can not climb the vertical calcium carbonate wall; in contrast, they can easily climb the vertical glass surface. Based on the features of the geometrical morphologies of the foot pads and the glass surface, we speculate that the attaching force and strong static frictional force are attributed to the interinlays between the deformable Gampsocleis gratiosa foot pads and the nanoscale sharp tips of the glass surface.

Directional sensitivity of auditory ascending neuron in the bushcricket Gampsocleis gratiosa

Quantitative analyses on phonotactic behavior of the bushcricket have demonstrated that the bushcricket possesses good capability to determine direction of sound source. The morphological structure, laterality and directional sensitivity of the auditory ascending neuron in the prothoracic ganglion of the bushcricket have been studied. At its best frequency of 15 kHz, the laterality threshold difference of the neuron is great up to about 16 dB. Its directional sensitivity depends closely on stimulus frequency. The higher the stimulus frequency, the greater the directional threshold differences. Spike count and latency shift of the ascending neuron in response to each stimulus depend on the angle of incidence of sound. Therefore, the two parameters can be used as directional cues of sound source by the ascending neuron.

A study of song characteristics and hearing in the bushcricket Gampsocleis gratiosa

The structure, power spectrum and temporal parameters of the calling song of the bushcricket Gampsocleis gratiosa were studied with acoustic analysis techniques. The bushcricket uses an elytro-elytral mechanism in sound production: the denticulated vein ( file ) on the under-surface of the left elytron is rubbed by the insider edge of the right elytron ( plectrum ). The file-train of pulses is composed of one elytra-opening pulse and 6 - 7 elytra-closing tooth pulses. The power spectrum of the song covers a wide frequency band. The acoustic energy is mainly distributed over the frequency range between 3 and 35 kHz. The predominant peak lies near 7.5 kHz and the next one around 4.0kHz. The song intensity is measured of about 105 dB SPL at a distance of 10 cm from the animal. The temporal parameters of the song are dependent on the ambient temperature. Three-dimensional digital spectrograms of the song show its dynamic changes of the energy peaks. The bushcricket is very sensitive to acoustic stimuli and its thresholds are less than 30 dB SPL in the frequency range from 7 to 18 kHz, which corresponds to dominant energy zone. The auditory neurons of the bushcricket can code the temporal parameters of the calling songs.