Acoustic signals are produced by a variety of animals in various contexts. Calls may isolate species prior to mating and thus are instrumental in understanding the mechanisms of speciation and in testing hypotheses in evolutionary biology and behavior. Additionally, acoustical signals have been useful to the scientist in distinguishing species that could not be told apart using external features. Thus signals are important tools for identification and classification of organisms. The test organisms for these studies will be Prokelisia planthoppers. Their mating behavior and the mechanism of sound transmission will be researched. Calls of geographic populations will be compared to understand signal variation and the parts of the calls which confer specified will be studied. The planthoppers are strongly associated with their host plants, since it is the food source and also likely the channel of transmission for communication among individuals. Because of their plant feeding, the planthoppers are an economically important group and particularly because many transmit plant pathogens. Thus knowledge of their mating behavior and signalling is essential in designing effective control measures.
