Songs produced by the females of the Drosophila virilis group of species

Females of the Drosophila virilis group of species may vibrate their wings during courtship producing songs consisting of trains of successive sound pulses (pulse song) or sinusoidal hums (sine song). In the present study we describe these songs and study their role in courtship using a transition analysis. To find out which songs should be classified as pulse songs and which ones as sine songs, we studied the inheritance of different song types in interspecific F1 hybrids. In only a few species did the females produce large quantities of song in successful courtships. The males' reactions to female songs varied from licking and singing to stopping the courtship. Pulse trains with short and long intervals between successive pulses appeared to be different forms of the pulse song, while sine song (sinusoidal hums) was inherited independently of the pulse song.