William H. Cade
Encyclopedia
Dr. William H. "Bill" Cade is a biologist and a former president of the University of Lethbridge
. He researches the role of acoustic signals in field cricket
mating behaviour.
, Cade discovered the parasitic fly Ormia ochracea
is attracted to the song of male crickets. Only female flies are attracted to the song, and they deposit living larvae on and in the vicinity of calling males. The larvae burrow into and eat the cricket who dies in about 7 days when the flies pupate. This was the first example of a natural enemy that locates its host or prey using the mating signal of the host/prey.
In late 2006, research by Marlene Zuk revealed the relationship between the cricket and the fly as one of the fastest examples of evolution ever recorded. Pressure from the O. ochracea has caused the crickets to evolve a silent male with wings that look like female wings.
Cade has a long collaboration with Dan Otte collecting and studying the crickets and grasshopper
s of Africa
.
University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
. He researches the role of acoustic signals in field cricket
Field cricket
Field crickets are insects of order Orthoptera. These crickets are in subfamily Gryllinae of family Gryllidae.They hatch in spring, and the young crickets eat and grow rapidly. They shed their skin eight or more times before they become adults.Field crickets eat a broad range of feeds: seeds,...
mating behaviour.
Education
Cade completed his BA (1968), MA (1972) and PhD (1976) in Zoology at the University of Texas at Austin. For his Master's degree he worked with Professor Osmond Breland on unusual aspects of insect sperm cell. Cade's doctoral work was on the evolution of mating behavior in insects and he studied with Professor Daniel OtteResearch
Cade has done research in evolution of animal behavior, insect reproductive behavior, acoustic signals in cricket, cockroach mating behavior, and parasite-prey coevolution.Flies and crickets
In 1975, together with his wife, Elsa Salazar CadeElsa Salazar Cade
Elsa Salazar Cade is an award-winning Mexican American science teacher and entomologist.Elsa received her undergraduate degree in elementary education at the University of Texas at Austin and her master's in public school administration at Niagara University...
, Cade discovered the parasitic fly Ormia ochracea
Ormia ochracea
Ormia ochracea is a small yellow nocturnal fly, a parasitoid of crickets. It is notable because of its exceptionally acute directional hearing. The female is attracted by the song of the male cricket and deposits larvae on or around him, as was discovered in 1975 by the zoologist William H. Cade...
is attracted to the song of male crickets. Only female flies are attracted to the song, and they deposit living larvae on and in the vicinity of calling males. The larvae burrow into and eat the cricket who dies in about 7 days when the flies pupate. This was the first example of a natural enemy that locates its host or prey using the mating signal of the host/prey.
In late 2006, research by Marlene Zuk revealed the relationship between the cricket and the fly as one of the fastest examples of evolution ever recorded. Pressure from the O. ochracea has caused the crickets to evolve a silent male with wings that look like female wings.
Cade has a long collaboration with Dan Otte collecting and studying the crickets and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.