In chorusing species, sound frequency has been suggested as a decisive cue for male body size in female mate choice. However, few studies on the female choice of male song frequency have been conducted in cicadas, in which males of most species sing in chorusing groups to attract females for mating. In this study, we investigated female mate choice for song frequency and body size of males of a chorusing cicada, Mogannia formosana, by phonotaxis experiments using two-choice tests and field observation, respectively. The choice proportion of effective responses and the proximity to the stimulus were used to assess the phonotaxis preference. In the field, two types of males (copulating vs. random) were caught, and their body sizes were compared. In phonotaxis experiments, the results revealed that females showed a preference for low-frequency song by approaching the low-frequency stimuli to a significantly greater proximity. By comparing the body sizes of copulating vs. random males, no significant differences were found. However, the copulating males had significantly different body shapes, as expressed by pronotum width regression by body length, from those of random males. We concluded that the sound frequency of male songs and male body shape in M. formosana can be used as cues of mate quality during female mate choice within a chorus. Additionally, we suggest that females of this species might use multiple cues for mate choice in different ranges of communication and that body size might not be the sole criterion of mate quality.

在合唱物种中，声音频率被认为是雌性配偶选择中雄性体型的决定性线索。然而，很少有关于雌性选择雄性鸣叫频率的研究在蝉中进行，其中大多数物种的雄性在合唱团中唱歌以吸引雌性交配。在这项研究中，我们调查了鸣蝉Mogannia formosana雄性的鸣叫频率和体型的雌性配偶选择，分别通过使用二选一测试和现场观察的声学实验。有效反应的选择比例和与刺激的接近程度被用来评估声学偏好。在野外，捕获了两种类型的雄性（交配与随机），并比较了它们的体型。在发声实验中，结果表明，女性通过将低频刺激更接近明显更接近来表现出对低频歌曲的偏好。通过比较交配与随机男性的体型，没有发现显着差异。然而，交配的雄性具有显着不同的体型，如由体长的前背板宽度回归所表示的，与随机雄性的体型不同。我们得出结论，男性歌曲的声音频率和男性体型在M. formosana在合唱中选择女性配偶时可用作配偶质量的线索。此外，我们建议该物种的雌性可能会在不同的交流范围内使用多种线索来选择配偶，并且体型可能不是配偶质量的唯一标准。