Silent night: adaptive disappearance of a sexual signal in a parasitized population of field crickets
TL;DR
When singing became a death sentence, Kauai's crickets went silent in 20 generations—90%+ evolved wings that can't chirp, trading mating calls for survival.
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Documented one of the fastest observed cases of evolutionary change—90%+ of a cricket population evolved silent wings in fewer than 20 generations when their mating calls began attracting lethal parasites.
Key Findings from Zuk et al. (2006)
- Over 90% of Kauai male crickets evolved flatwing mutation in fewer than 20 generations
- Flatwing males physically cannot produce song—lack stridulatory apparatus
- Only 1 of 121 flatwing males harbored parasites vs. 30% of calling males
- Silent males survive by acting as satellites near remaining callers
- Mutation is X-linked: Xm males are silent while XX females appear normal