Courtship Song Analysis in Two Hybrid Zones between Sibling Species of the Chorthippus albomarginatus Group (Orthoptera, Gomphocerinae)
V. Yu. Vedenina

Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 127994 Russia e-mail: vedenin@iitp.ru E-mail: vedenin@iitp.ru


Аннотация
Two new hybrid zones between sibling species of the Chorthippus albomarginatus group were described on the basis of the courtship song analysis. Not only the sounds emitted but also the accompanying stridulatory movements of the hind legs were analyzed, which allowed the temporal parameters to be classified in a more reliable way. One hybrid zone between Ch. albomarginatus and Ch. karelini was found in Ulyanovsk and Samara Provinces of Russia. The other hybrid zone, presumably between Ch. karelini and Ch. oschei, was found in the protected Askania-Nova steppe area in Kherson Province of Ukraine. Based on comparison of the natural and laboratory hybrids, a hypothesis on the structure and dynamics of the hybrid zones is proposed.