# Acoustic Communication in Dendroctonus adjunctus Blandford (Curculionidae Scolytinae): Description of Calls and Sound Production Mechanism

## TL;DR

This paper describes how Dendroctonus adjunctus bark beetles produce and use sounds during interactions, revealing new types of calls and their communication patterns.

## Contribution

The study identifies a new withdrawal call in male–male interactions and characterizes sound production mechanisms and call types in Dendroctonus adjunctus.

## Key findings

- Males of Dendroctonus adjunctus have a functional elytro–tergal stridulatory apparatus not found in females.
- Single– and multi–noted calls differ in spectro–temporal features across stress, female–male, and male–male contexts.
- A new withdrawal call was identified in male–male interactions when beetles withdraw or flee.

## Abstract

Simple Summary: Acoustic communication is present in different groups of insects and is used in different contexts during their life cycle. Bark beetles are a group of insects of ecological importance, because they can kill a large number of trees and affect forest succession These insects communicate using chemical signals for long distances, but while on or in the tree, they use acoustic communication to interact between individuals during the colonization of their host trees. A series of sounds have been described for bark beetles, which are produced by specialized anatomical structures under different conditions, such as stress, courtship, and territoriality. In this study, we worked with males of Dendroctonus adjunctus, and we described the stridulatory structures using optical and electron microscopy. In addition, we recorded and characterized the types of calls and their spectral and temporal characteristics under stress conditions, female–male, and male–male interactions. Results showed that the shape of the stridulatory apparatus is like males of other beetle species in the genus, and we identified single– and multi–noted calls with differences in temporal and spectral characteristics under three behavioral contexts. Finally, a new type of withdrawal call was identified in male–male interactions.

The acoustic communication system (ACS) in bark beetles has been studied mainly in species of the genera Dendroctonus, Ips and Polygraphus. Specifically, ACS of the roundheaded pine beetle, Dendroctonus adjunctus, has been little studied. In this study, we described the stridulatory apparatus of this beetle using optical and scanning electron microscopy and recorded the call types produced by males in three behavioral contexts: stress, female–male–, and male–male interactions. From the spectrograms and waveforms, call types, as well as temporal (tooth strike, tooth strike rate, and intertooth strike interval) and spectral features (minimum, maximum and dominant frequency), were determined. Males have a functional elytro–tergal stridulatory apparatus—females do not—consisting of a file for the pars stridens and two lobes for the plectrum. Most of spectro–temporal features were statistically different between single– and multi–noted calls and across the three behavioral contexts. In the male–male interaction, a new type of call named “withdrawal” was produced by the male withdrawing or fleeing. Our results suggest that the spectro–temporal features of single– and multiple–noted calls in the three behavioral conditions are specific and different from each other. Yet, the combination of single and multiple calls determines an overall calling pattern characteristic of the tested behaviors and, therefore, is species–specific.