title: The evolutionary convergence of hearing in a parasitoid fly and its cricket host.
abstract: Parasitism is a widespread and diverse life strategy that connects species throughout the animal kingdom. Female parasitoid flies of the genus Ormia must find a specific cricket host on which to deposit their parasitic maggots. To reproduce, female flies must perform the same task as female crickets: find a singing male cricket. These flies have evolved a unique hearing organ that allows them to detect and locate singing male crickets. Through evolutionary convergence, these flies possess a hearing organ that much more resembles a cricket's ear than a typical fly's ear, allowing these parasitoids to take advantage of the sensory ecological niche of their host.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amoroso
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Hoy
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004175:Diptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D004423:Ear / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D006135:Gryllidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D006309:Hearing; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013016:Sound; D014828:Vocalization, Animal