Biotremology Current Biology Peggy S.M. Hill, Andreas Wessel  Current Biology  Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages R187-R191 (March 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.054 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Mechanical wave forms produced by a signaling plant-dwelling insect. A planthopper, one of the small relatives of the cicadas, uses its tymbal to produce vibrations, which are transferred through its legs (and the thin air layer between its body and the plant surface) to the plant on which it is sitting (and from which it is sucking fluids). The planthoppers that are communicating exclusively by surface vibrations, nevertheless, produce by their signaling behavior a very faint sound. The planthopper tymbal is homologous to the ‘drumming organ’ of the large singing cicadas, and tens of thousands of the smaller Hemipteran bugs use such organs for their ‘silent songs’. Current Biology 2016 26, R187-R191DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.054) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 Types of communication acts that can be realized by a vibrational signaler. The signaling planthopper acts to establish vibrational communication with a conspecific receiver. Likewise, a vibrational communicating predator (e.g. a lycosid wolf spider) and an acoustical orienting parasite (e.g. a braconid wasp) are eavesdropping on the hopper, establishing a complex communication network. Current Biology 2016 26, R187-R191DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.054) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 3 Active space network created by vibrational signals. Vibrational communicating animals often produce clearly audible sounds, as for example wolf spiders that drum on the substrate or stridulate while pressing body parts against a surface, such as dry leaves. In such a case the airborne component of a mechanical signal may induce vibrations in a substrate that is not connected directly with the sender of the signal, extending the active space network. The communication act is nevertheless a substrate-vibrational one, depending on the sensory perception of the receiver. Current Biology 2016 26, R187-R191DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.054) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions