Grasshoppers produce a variety of sounds generated by complex movements of the hindlegs.
Stridulation, performed in the context of partner finding, mating and rivalry, can be released by pressure injection of cholinergic agonists into the protocerebrum. According to the complexity of their stridulatory behaviour ten gomphocerine species were chosen for this comparative study. With the knowledge of the natural behaviour and the accessibility to pharmacological and electrophysiological studies, the cephalic control system for stridulation in grasshoppers appears to be a suitable model for how the brain selects and controls appropriate behaviours for a given situation.