STABILITY OF DYADIC DOMINANCE STATUS AND RECOGNITION OF THE OPPONENT IN MALE CRICKETS GRYLLUS-BIMACULATUS (ORTHOPTERA, GRYLLIDAE)

In dyads of adult male Gryllus bimaculatus, a dominance relationship i s established at the first agonistic interaction between the two insec ts. The comparison of the aggressive behaviour displayed by adult male s shows that field crickets act in an identical manner when confronted with an unfamiliar opponent or with one already encountered in a diff erent environment. In contrast, analysis of five successive conflicts in a given environment shows that the dynamics of the interactions var ies according to whether the opponents are always the same or one is c hanged at each encounter. The conflicts are solved more rapidly when t he interactions involve the same opponents. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.