马来西亚蝗科及一新种记述（直翅目：蝗总科）

记述了采自马来西亚的蝗科6亚科22属30种,包括一新种Vitalisia bangiensus sp. nov.。 并首次发现和描述了Sedulia perakensis Willemse的雄性及Eucoptacra minima Ramme和Pagdenia rufipes Miller的雌性。还发现Meltripata bolivari Willemse 和Pagdenia rufipes Miller具二型：全翅型和退化翅型。提供了马来西亚已记录属和种的检索表。     

Olfactory responses of two species of grasshoppers to plant odours

Electroantennogram (EAG) responses were recorded from two species of oedipodine grasshoppers, Oedaleus decorus asiaticus L. (graminivorous) and Angaracris barabensis Pall. (forbivorous), to volatiles emitted by chopped leaves of ten plant species. Male O. d. asiaticus showed much stronger EAG responses than conspecific females and both sexes of A. barabensis. Sexual differences in EAG responses correspond to different numbers of antennal sensilla of both sexes and to certain behavioural and morphological factors as well. The overall EAG response profiles of the two grasshopper species to the ten plant odours were similar. However, adaptation to host odour might have occurred because of differences in their feeding habits. Females of the graminivorous O. d. asiaticus possess a significantly higher olfactory sensitivity for poaceous plant species than A. barabensis, while the forbivorous A. barabensis showed significantly higher EAG responses to Allium senescens (Liliaceae), and a tendency of high responses to composite plant species in comparison with O. d. asiaticus.     

Use of entomopathogenic fungi combined with biorational insecticides to control Dichroplus maculipennis (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae) under semi-field conditions

Grasshoppers are among the invertebrate herbivores that cause most economic losses in grasslands throughout Argentina’s Pampas and parts of Patagonia. Chemical insecticides remain the sole option for grasshopper control in this area, despite being of significant environmental concern. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of combinations between three entomopathogenic fungi strains (Beauveria bassiana LPSc 1067 and LPSc1082), and Metarhizium anisopliae (LPSc 907), two biorational insecticides (luphenuron and methoxyfenozide), and a new synthetic chemical pesticide (rynaxypyr) in the control of the pest grasshopper Dichroplus maculipennis under field cage conditions. Fungal strains used were adjusted to 1 × 10⁸, 1 × 10⁶ and 1 × 10⁴ conidia/ml. Insecticides were tested at three concentrations: the average concentration recommended for application in the field (100%), 50% of that level and finally 25%. Combinations of the insecticides with B. bassiana (LPSc 1067, LPSc 1082) and M. anisopliae (LPSc 907) caused higher mortality to D. maculipennis nymphs than any of the individual agents used alone. The three insecticides tested did not negatively affect the isolates of the two species of entomopathogenic fungi employed.     

Effects of large herbivore grazing on grasshopper behaviour and abundance in a meadow steppe

1. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity has been a major subject in evolutionary ecology, but how a species' behaviour may respond to certain environmental change is still not clear. In grasslands worldwide, large herbivores are increasingly used as a tool for grazing management, and occur to interact with grasshoppers that dominate grassland insect communities. Previous studies have been well-documented about grazing effects on diversity and abundance of grasshoppers. Yet, how grazing may alter grasshopper behaviour, and potential effects on their abundance remains elusive. 2. We conducted a field experiment by manipulating grazing using sheep, cattle, and their mix to examine the behavioural responses and abundance of the grasshoppers (Euchorthippus unicolor) to grazing in a Leymus chinensis-dominated grassland. 3. Results showed that the grasshoppers spent less time on feeding and resting on grasses, but more time on switching and resting on forbs under cattle grazing and mixed grazing with cattle and sheep. In contrast, the grasshoppers spent more time on feeding but less time on switching and resting on forbs under sheep grazing. The behavioural changes were also potentially linked to grasshopper abundance in the context of grazing management. 4. The responses of grasshopper behaviour and abundance to grazing may be largely triggered by altered vegetation and microclimates. Such behavioural flexibility of grasshoppers must be considered when large herbivores are recognised as a management tool for influencing grasshopper abundance, and grazer species should be paid more attention both individually and jointly for better grassland conservation.     

Background matching,disruptive coloration,and differential use of microhabitats in two neotropical grasshoppers with sexual dichromatism

Cryptic coloration is an adaptative defensive mechanism against predators. Color patterns can become cryptic through background coloration‐matching and disruptive coloration. Disruptive coloration may evolve in visually heterogeneous microhabitats, whereas background matching could be favored in chromatically homogeneous microhabitats. In this work, we used digital photography to explore the potential use of disruptive coloration and background matching in males and females of two grasshopper species of the Sphenarium genus in different habitats. We found chromatic differences in the two grasshopper species that may be explained by local adaptation. We also found that the females and males of both species are dichromatic and seem to follow different color cryptic strategies, males are more disruptive than females, whereas females have a high background matching with less disruptive elements. The selective pressures of the predators in different microhabitats and the differences in mobility between sexes may explain the color pattern divergence between females and males. Nevertheless, more field experiments are needed in order to understand the relative importance of disruptive and background matching coloration in the evolution of sexual dichromatism in these grasshoppers.     

黑河上游天然草地蝗虫物种丰富度与地形关系的GAM分析

地形差异性导致的环境异质性为小尺度范围内生物空间格局的形成与维持提供了一种重要机制, 是形成物种丰富度差异性的前提条件。借助GIS和S-PLUS软件, 利用广义可加模型(GAM)于7-8月对影响蝗虫分布的地形因子进行了研究, 在定量分析黑河上游祁连山区北坡地形的海拔分异特征的基础上研究了该区域蝗虫的丰富度与地形复杂度的关系。结果表明： 在36个样方中共采集蝗虫3 149头, 隶属于3科10属13种; 蝗虫丰富度受地形因子影响的顺序为海拔＞坡向＞坡度＞剖面曲率＞平面曲率＞坡位; 蝗虫的分布在平面曲率和剖面曲率各个梯度上的分布比较均衡, 在海拔、 坡向以及坡位的每个梯度上呈二次抛物线分布, 坡度上呈递减趋势; 从分布的区域上来看, 蝗虫在整个区域都有较高的丰富度, 但主要分布在海拔2 600~2 700 m区域, 坡向上则主要集中在西北坡和西坡, 与实际观测情况相一致。蝗虫丰富度与地形因子之间的相互关系以及分布状态, 反映了地形因子对水热条件的重分配使蝗虫分布格局出现多元化以及破碎化。     

Linearity in the aggregate effects of multiple predators in a food web

Theory in community ecology often assumes that predator species have similar indirect effects and thus can be treated mathematically as a single functional unit (e.g. guild or trophic level). This assumption is questionable biologically because predator species typically differ in their effects, creating the potential for nonlinearities when they coexist. We evaluated the nature of indirect effects caused by three species of hunting spider predators, singly and in multiple species combinations, on grass and herb plants in experimental old-field food webs. Despite the potential for nonlinearity, indirect effects in different multiple predator combinations consistently did not differ significantly from the respective means of the single species effects. Thus, for this experimental system, the whole was simply the average of the parts. Consequently, models which abstract predator species as single trophic levels would successfully predict indirect effects in this system regardless of the composition of the predator fauna.     

Grain-dependent relationships between plant productivity and invertebrate species richness and biomass in calcareous grasslands

The relationships among productivity, species richness and consumer biomass are of fundamental importance for understanding determinants of biodiversity. These relationships may depend on grain size. We examined the relationships between productivity (above-ground phytomass) and plant species richness and between productivity and species richness and biomass of gastropods and grasshoppers using sampling units of different sizes (0.5, 2.75 and 23 m²) in nutrient-poor, calcareous grasslands in north-western Switzerland in two successive years. Species richness of forbs had a unimodal relationship with productivity in sampling units of 0.5 m² and was negatively correlated with productivity at the other two plot sizes in one year. In the other year, forb species richness tended to decrease with productivity in sampling units of 23 m². No similar relationship was found for grasses. Gastropod biomass had a unimodal relationship with productivity at 0.5 m² in the first year. Grasshopper species richness was correlated with forb species richness at plot sizes of 2.75 and 23 m². This study demonstrates that patterns detected between productivity and diversity and between productivity and biomass of consumers depend on the grain size used in the investigation and vary among years.Die Zusammenhänge zwischen Produktivität, Artenreichtum und Biomasse von Konsumenten sind wichtig, um zu verstehen, was Biodiversität beeinflußt. Diese Zusammenhänge können von der Größe der Untersuchungsfläche abhängig sein. Wir untersuchten während zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Jahren die Zusammenhänge zwischen Produktivität (oberirdische Pflanzenbiomasse) und Artenreichtum von Gefäßpflanzen, sowie zwischen Produktivität und Artenreichtum und Biomasse von Schnecken und Heuschrecken bezüglich dreier räumlicher Skalen (0,5, 2,75 und 23 m²) in Kalkmagerrasen in der Nordwestschweiz. Der Zusammenhang zwischen dem Artenreichtum von Kräutern und der Produktivität war unimodal in Flächeneinheiten von 0,5 m² und negativ in Flächeneinheiten von 2,75 und 23 m² im ersten Jahr und war tendenziell negativ in Flächeneinheiten von 23 m² im zweiten Jahr, während kein solcher Zusammenhang bei Gräsern gefunden wurde. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Produktivität und Biomasse von Schnecken war unimodal in Flächeneinheiten von 0,5 m² im ersten Jahr. Außerdem bestand ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem Artenreichtum von Kräutern und Heuschrecken in Flächeneinheiten von 2,75 und 23 m². Diese Arbeit zeigt, daß Zusammenhänge zwischen Produktivität und Diversität sowie zwischen Produktivität und Biomasse von Konsumenten von der Größe der Untersuchungsfläche abhängen und zwischen Jahren variieren.     

锐劲特对青海省草原蝗虫防治价值的研究(英文)

在过马营乡（青海省海南藏族自治州）对锐劲特控制草原蝗虫的作用进行了笼罩和野外实验。目的在于分析该新杀虫剂对草原蝗虫的作用方式,特效性及野外应用之最低剂量。红翅皱膝蝗（Ａｎｇａｒａｃｒｉｓｒｈｏｄｏｐａ）,宽须蚁蝗（Ｍｙｒｍｅｌｅｏｔｅｔｔｉｘ　ｐａｌｐａｌｉｓ）和狭翅雏蝗Ｃｈｏｒｔｈｉｐｐｕｓ　ｄｕｂｉｕｓ被选用作实验材料。结果表明极低剂量的锐劲特（４ ｇ和 ８ ｇ／ｈａ活性物质）便对蝗虫有很强的触杀和胃毒作用。在笼内,两种不同浓度的锐劲特的药效几乎没有差别。除了宽须蚁蝗成虫,触杀的击倒作用一般较胃毒的迅速;锐劲特对狭翅雏蝗 ５龄蝻的控制作用达 ２周以上。在野外对 ４个剂量的锐劲特（２,３,５和 １０ ｇ活性物质／ｈａ）及 ５个剂量的 ２０％的杀灭灵（９０, ７５, ６０, ４５, ３０ ｇ活性物质／ｈａ）的短期防效进行了比较。锐劲特的短期防效较杀灭灵为好。不同剂量的锐劲特间的区别主要表现在处理后不同时间内蝗虫的死亡率,在短期控制效果上几乎没有差别。施用锐劲特２６天后,喷洒过 ３ ｇ活性物质／ｈａ以上剂量的实验小区内草原蝗虫的密度仍处于极低水平,表明该药野外施用的最低剂量为３ｇ活性物质／ｈａ。     

Egg yolk polypeptide variation in acridids (Orthoptera)

The polypeptide composition of egg yolk proteins was analysed in 23 species of grasshoppers by means of SDS-PAGE. Each species has a distinguishable set of polypeptides, varying from three to seven (although most show five or six), which can be classified into two groups of high (H) and low molecular weight (L). The patterns can be interpreted following a two-gene model, each with three domains that codify two H and one L polypeptides. The results suggest strong rearrangements in vitellin during speciation and a later slowing in divergence due to functional constraints. Consequently, the vitellin polypeptide composition may be used for species identification but does not provide phylogenetic information above the genus level. Intraspecific variability was found only in Eyprepocnemis plorans , which appears to be quite recent from an evolutionary point of view, and in Chorthippus parallelus where the subspecies differentiation may be older. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 75 , 281–290.