Territorial Behavior in Crickets

[ Google Doc ]

Materials:

• 4 male crickets*
• 1 female cricket
• slice of potato (or other food)
• cardboard, plastic aquarium plants
• small plastic container,
• paint and brushes

*Crickets can be obtained from bait stores or Amazon.

1. Gather your crickets from the cricket holding tank, make sure you have 4 males and 1 female - your teacher will tell you how to tell them apart. Use the paint to mark each of the males a different color. Leave the female unmarked.

2. Set up your cricket habitat. Put a potato slice in your aquarium, and a folded piece of cardboard (like a tent).

3. Place the female cricket in the container and observe it for 5 minutes. Write your observations below. Include where the cricket spent most of it time an any notable behavior it exhibits.

4. Add the male crickets to the container and look for territorial or aggressive behavior. This includes chirping, stroking others with antennae, pushing others, or jumping on their backs. .

For each cricket, tally the number of times it acted aggressively in the chart. For instance, if the blue cricket charged a green cricket near the potato, you would put a tally mark in that box

Discussion:

1. Compare the anatomy of the female cricket to the male. How can you tell the difference?

2. What behaviors did you notice among the male crickets and where were they most likely to occur?

3. Suggust an evolutionary reason for territorial behavior in crickets.

3. Do you think females would behave aggressively toward other females? Why or why not?