Analysis of friction mechanisms during cricket stridulation
Abstract
To better understand the mechanisms of stridulation in crickets, which involves friction between the plectrum and the stridulatory file, observations and profile measurements were carried out on two specimens of the species Lebinthus luae, one young and the other old. The observations reveal a similarity in the shape of the file teeth in both specimens, but more irregularities at the tooth tips in the older specimen. Notable differences were also observed in the plectrum. In the older specimen, more pronounced wear marks, accompanied by striations oriented in the direction of movement, were observed on the upper surface, on the convex part of the plectrum near its tip. Comparison of the file profiles indicates a wear rate on the order of 1.5 x 10⁻⁷ µm/cycle on the active face of the teeth. The wear rate of the plectrum is on the order of 1.7 x 10⁻⁶ µm/cycle, or about eleven times that of the file. These results provide a first estimate of the wear rate of the stridulatory organs of crickets
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BibTeX
@misc{chen2026analysis,
title = {{Analysis of friction mechanisms during cricket stridulation}},
author = {Yan-Ming Chen and Teddy Gaiddon and Claire François-Martin and Myriam Guerin and David Cazé and Gael Guegan and Tony Robillard and Dominique Ghiglione},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05798164v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Analysis of friction mechanisms during cricket stridulation
AU - Yan-Ming Chen
AU - Teddy Gaiddon
AU - Claire François-Martin
AU - Myriam Guerin
AU - David Cazé
AU - Gael Guegan
AU - Tony Robillard
AU - Dominique Ghiglione
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
PB - HAL
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05798164v1
AB - To better understand the mechanisms of stridulation in crickets, which involves friction between the plectrum and the stridulatory file, observations and profile measurements were carried out on two specimens of the species Lebinthus luae, one young and the other old. The observations reveal a similarity in the shape of the file teeth in both specimens, but more irregularities at the tooth tips in the older specimen. Notable differences were also observed in the plectrum. In the older specimen, more pronounced wear marks, accompanied by striations oriented in the direction of movement, were observed on the upper surface, on the convex part of the plectrum near its tip. Comparison of the file profiles indicates a wear rate on the order of 1.5 x 10⁻⁷ µm/cycle on the active face of the teeth. The wear rate of the plectrum is on the order of 1.7 x 10⁻⁶ µm/cycle, or about eleven times that of the file. These results provide a first estimate of the wear rate of the stridulatory organs of crickets
ER -