P-13 The Role of Octopamine in Selective Phonotaxis by Female Cricket Acheta Domesticus

Female crickets respond phonotactically to the calls of conspecific males. Females’ response has been reported to be variable, ranging from unselective to selective of calls with varying syllable periods (30–90 ms). Octopamine, an invertebrate neurotransmitter, has been reported to increase aggressive behavior in crickets (Stevenson et al. 2005), but the effects of octopamine on behaviors such as phonotaxis have not been investigated. The goal of this study is to determine the effects of octopamine on the syllable-period selective phonotactic response of females. Preliminary data suggests a decrease in phonotactic responsiveness shown by 5-10 day-olds after prothoracic nanoinjection of octopamine.