New or Little-Known Crickets of the Subfamily Phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae): 12. The Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parendacustes</Emphasis> (Part 3) and Other Taxa

Parendacustes (Minizacla) papua sp. n., P. (M.) wasile sp. n., Longizacla lambusango sp. n., Luzonogryllus (Squamizacla) palawanensis meridionalis subsp. n., subtribe Parendacustina (Phalangopsini), Phalangopsina clara sp. n., Indozacla gen. n., subtribe Indozaclina subtrib. n. (Phalangopsini), and Brevizacla desultor sp. n., subtribe Brevizaclina (Paragryllini), are described from Indonesia and India. The genus Pseudendacustes Chopard, 1928 stat. resurr. from an uncertain subtribe of the tribe Paragryllini is restored from the synonymy of the genus Paragryllodes Karny, 1909. New data on the distribution and systematic position of some other taxa of the subfamily Phalangopsinae from Southeast Asia and Oceania are also provided.     

New and little known crickets of the subfamily Phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae): 6. Neotropical taxa of the tribes Phalangopsini and Paragryllini

Two new genera, ten new species, and two new subspecies: Uvaroviella izerskyi sp. n., U. morona sp. n., U. ucayali sp. n., U. pastaza sp. n., U. affinis sp. n., U. bolivia sp. n., U. bora atalaya subsp. n., Kevanacla orientalis contraria subsp. n., Peruacla solitaria gen. et sp. n., Ecuadoracla propria gen. et sp. n., Adelosgryllus spurius sp. n., and A. phaeocephalus sp. n. are described. The tribe Paragryllini is divided into three subtribes: Paragryllina Desutter, 1988 stat. n., Neoaclina Desutter, 1988 stat. n., and Strogulomorphina Desutter 1988, stat. n. The composition of the genera Uvaroviella Chop. and Neoacla Desutter is discussed. The species from Costa Rica and the Antilles are supposed to belong to these genera and subgenera. New synonymy [U. trinidadi Gorochov, 2007 = U. enodos Otte et Perez-Gelabert, 2009, syn. n. and N. multivenosa (Chopard, 1937) = Selvacla choreutes Otte, 2006, syn. n.] is proposed.     

New and little-known crickets of the subfamily Phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae). 11. The genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parendacustes</Emphasis> (Part 2)

Discussions concerning the composition of the genus Parendacustes Chop., in particular, its subgenus Minizacla Gor., are continued. Eleven new taxa of this subgenus are described: P. trusmadi sp. n., P. mulu sp. n., P. brevispina sp. n., P. modispina sp. n., P. longispina sp. n., P. forficula sabah subsp. n., P. doloduo sp. n., P. buton sp. n., P. pallescens sp. n., P. kendari sp. n., and P. lindu sp. n. New data on P. makassari Gor. are also provided.     

New and little-known crickets of the subfamily Phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae). 10. The genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parendacustes</Emphasis> (Part 1)

The composition of the genus Parendacustes Chop. and of its two subgenera is briefly discussed. Nine new taxa of the nominotypical subgenus are described: P. berezini sp. n., P. arachne sp. n., P. pahangi borealis subsp. n., P. sylvestris sp. n., P. tkatshevae sp. n., P. tawau sp. n., P. tiomani sp. n., P. ectoparameralis sp. n., and P. magnispeculum sp. n. New data on the distribution of P. p. pahangi Gor. and considerations on the generic position of P. latifrons Chop. and P. lifouensis Desutter-Grandcolas are also provided.     

The Energetics of Male Mating Strategies in Field Crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllinae: Gryllidae)

Male field crickets (Gryllinae: Gryllidae: Orthoptera) vary in their mating strategies, particularly in whether they call from defended sites to attract phonotactic females or roam silently in search of potential mates. To better understand the economics underlying these alternative strategies, respirometry was employed to examine the energetic costs of each strategy's component behaviors for a representative species, Acheta domesticus. Advertisement calling in this species, composed of low pulse rate chirps, is an order of magnitude less energetically costly than walking per unit time. However, for gryllids that advertise call with higher pulse rate trills, calling and walking appear to be of equivalent energetic cost. Thus, if energetic costs are important in determining grylline mating strategies, trillers and chirpers should have different sensitivities to change in factors affecting the relative payoffs of each strategy. Field studies of changes in mating behavior with increased population density support this argument. This study also determined that courtship calling by A. domesticus was over twice as energetically costly as advertisement calling per unit time, suggesting its importance as a more reliable indicator of signaler, or mate, quality.     

The neurosecretory system of the adult Melanogryllus desertus pall. (Orthoptera,Gryllidae)

Summary The cerebral neurohemal area of Melanogryllus desertus is located posteriorly among the neurons of nervus corporis cardiaci I (NCCI) on the ventral median surface of the protocerebrum where axons penetrate the neural lamella and terminate on its outer surface. Numerous neurosecretory fibers containing three different types of granule occur within and on the outer surface of the neural lamella.The release of neurosecretory granules is accomplished by exocytosis and the formation of synaptoids. It can also take place as a mass release of granules into the stroma.     

Ontogenesis of the cricket Gryllus argentinus Sauss. (Orthoptera, Gryllidae)

The development of Gryllus argentinus Sauss. was studied under stable laboratory conditions: the temperature of 26°C, the air humidity of 60%, and the photoperiod of 12h light: 12 h dark. The life cycle of Gryllus argentinus includes four stages: egg, pronymph, nymph, and adult. The duration of embryonic development is 18 days. The depth of egg bedding in the peat is 9.63 ± 0.12 mm (n =145), the clutch containing 2–4 eggs. A female can lay over 1100 viable eggs during the entire oviposition period. Nymphal development includes 9 instars and lasts 97 days. The duration of nymphal instars (days) is: I—5; II—6; III—6; IV—6; V—8; VI—10; VII—13; VIII—14; IX—29. The duration of the adult life is 51 days in males and 69 days, in females. In the imaginal ontogenesis of males and females, three periods can be distinguished: pre-reproductive, reproductive, and postreproductive. Males start to emit the aggressive signal on the 6th (5–8th) day (the pre-reproductive period). They enter the reproductive period (start to emit the calling song) on the 9th (8–13th) day. Females enter the reproductive period (become capable of responding to the calling song and of copulation) on the 9th (8–10th) day. Oviposition starts on the day after the first copulation. The reproductive period lasts about 40 (15–59) days in males and 58 (21–70) days in females. The post-reproductive period starts in females at the moment of finishing the egg laying period and in males, with disappearance of reproductive behavior. The period ends in the animal’s death.     

Female Choice and the Consistency of Courtship Feeding in Black-horned Tree Crickets Oecanthus nigricornis Walker (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae)

Courtship feeding in insects is often strongly correlated with insemination duration and therefore provides a potential postcopulatory episode of sexual selection. We tested whether courtship feeding and other courtship traits in the black-horned tree cricket Oecanthus nigricornis showed sufficient consistency potentially to respond to sexual selection by testing whether they differed significantly among males. Duration of courtship feeding differed among males when measured repeatedly and this caused significant differences in the duration of spermatophore attachment, a trait that determines the maximum duration of insemination and thus has important fitness consequences in crickets. We also partitioned variance in courtship behaviour between the sexes to test whether differences in courtship behaviour were attributable primarily to males, females or both sexes. Duration of spermatophore attachment was controlled by females and therefore represents a mechanism of female mate choice. Significant variation in duration of spermatophore attachment was associated with differences between individuals of both sexes. Differences among males indicate that females agree in their preference of certain males whereas differences among females indicate that females differ in their receptivity to postcopulatory courtship and insemination. The fact that differences among males in duration of spermatophore attachment were due to significant differences solely in the period of courtship feeding indicates that postcopulatory female choice was mediated through courtship feeding. Whether males manipulate female choices by allocating more or fewer resources requires further testing, but we found that males court some females more vigorously than others after females dismount. The number of previous mates had opposite effects on the duration of courtship feeding for the sexes, decreasing it for males but increasing it for females, and we discuss the possible causes of these results.     

Longer Antennae for Romeo: Assessing Effect of Antennae Length on Courtship and Mating Success in Male Crickets, Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera, Gryllidae)

Animals use a variety of chemosensory functions to coordinate behavioral actions, such as sexual recognition and courtship. In particular, many insects use antennae as a vital chemosensory organ to transmit and receive sexual signals that are believed to be crucial in mate recognition and mating in various species of insects. Crickets provide a usable model to test the significance of antennae in insects. The general importance of antennae in male crickets to initiate courtship, ensure copulation, and post-copulatory mate guarding has been documented in studies that performed full antennectomy. Our study is the first to perform partial antennectomy to test the hypothesis that even partial loss due to injury has negative effects on sexual behaviors. We found that partially antennectomized males are not slower than control males in mate recognition and courtship initiation. However, we found that partially antennectomized males take longer to achieve copulation than control males with normal uncut antennae. Our results suggest that male crickets require long, undamaged antennae to efficiently engage in mating behavior and may already incur fitness costs when they lose half of their antennae.     

Ontogeny of the cricket Phaeophilacris bredoides Kaltenbach (Orthoptera, Gryllidae)

Development of Phaeophilacris bredoides Kalt. was studied under stable laboratory conditions: temperature of 26°C, air humidity 60%, and 12L: 12D photoperiod (Knyazev, 1985). The life cycle of Ph. bredoides includes four stages: egg, pronymph, nymph, and adult. The duration of embryonic development is 28 days. The nymphal ontogeny lasts 230 days and consists of 25 instars. The duration of nymphal instars (days) is: 1st—16, 2nd—6, 3rd—8, 4th—10, 5th—10, 6th—15, 7th—10, 8th—8, 9th—9, 10th—11, 11th—11, 12th—8, 13th—9, 14th—10, 15th—7, 16th—9, 17th—7, 18th—7, 19th—7, 20th—10, 21st—11, 22nd—7, 23rd—9, 24th—6, and 25th—9. The duration of adult life is 126 days in males and 125 days in females. Three periods were distinguished in the imaginal ontogeny of males and females: pre-reproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive. The pre-reproductive period begins with the molt to the adult and ends with the onset of reproductive behavior in males and with the first copulation in females. Its duration is 4 (3–6) days in males and 5 (2–7) days in females. The reproductive period in males starts with the onset of reproductive behavior on the 4th (3rd–6th) day and lasts 119 (98–135) days. In females it begins when they start responding to males’ courtship behavior and lasts 116 (97–133) days. The female reproductive period includes two alternating phases: copulation and egg-laying. The egg-laying phase is initiated by successful copulation. The post-reproductive period in females starts when oviposition ceases and in males, when their reproductive behavior disappears. This period lasts about 3 (2–3) days in males and 4 (2–7) days in females, until the insect dies.     

New and little known phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae): 7. Neotropical taxa of the tribes Paragryllini and Luzarini

Three new genera, one new subgenus, and 13 new species (Strogulomorpha separata sp. n., S. davidi sp. n., S. proxima sp. n., Luzarida lata sp. n., Luzara venado sp. n., L. sapani sp. n., Ucayacla pulchella gen. et sp. n., Peruzara atalaya gen. et sp. n., P. loreto sp. n., Amazonacla imitata gen. et sp. n., A. primitiva sp. n., Leptopsis (Leptopsis) ucayali sp. n., and L. (Aberracla subgen. n.) morona sp. n.) are described. The composition of the tribes Paragryllini and Luzarini and of the genera Luzarida Heb. and Luzara Walk is discussed. The new synonymies Luzarida Hebard, 1928 = Ecuazarida Nischk et Otte, 2000, syn. n.; Lerneca Walker, 1869 = Doposia Otte et Perez-Gelabert, 2009, syn. n.; Nemoricantor Desutter-Grandcolas et Hubbell, 1993 = Kumalorina Otte et Perez-Gelabert, 2009, syn. n. are given. The systematic position of some previously described species is corrected.     

Buchonomyia burmanica sp.n. and Buchonomyiinae, a New Subfamily among the Chironomidae (Diptera)

Male and female imagines of Buchonomyia burmanica sp.n. are described. While the male imago nearly exclusively shows plesiomorphous features, the female imago possesses three important underlying synapomorphies as unique inside-parallelisms: the capacities for divisions of gonapophysis VIII and of tergite IX and for the development of an apodeme lobe. These and supporting evidence lead to the conclusion that Buchonomyia Fittkau deserves a new subfamily, the Buchonomyiinae, which forms the sister-group of the monophyletic unit Chironominae-t-Orthocladiinae+Prodiamesinae+Diamesinae.     

New and little known crickets of the subfamily phalangopsinae (Orthoptera, Gryllidae): 3. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Seychelles

Two new subgenera and eight new species of the subfamily Phalangopsinae are described from Sulawesi, Supiori, Mindoro, Palawan, Sumatra, and Cousin islands. Two former subgenera, Longizacla and Brevizacla, are considered as genera. The new synonymy for a subgenus of the genus Luzonogryllus is established. Diagnostic characters and systematic position of some taxa are discussed.     

New and little-known crickets of the subfamily phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae). 9. The african genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaeophilacris</Emphasis>

The genus Phaeophilacris Walk. is divided into two subgenera: Phaeophilacris s. str. and Speluncacris Sjöst. The latter name, originally proposed as a generic one and synonymized with Phaeophilacris s. l., is restored as a subgeneric name. The former genera Opilionacris Sjöst. and Cavernacris Sjöst. previously synonymized with Phaeophilacris s. l. are considered as synonyms of the subgenus Speluncacris. Four new species (Ph. (S.) malawi sp. n., Ph. (S.) boldyrevi sp. n., Ph. (S.) dmitrievi sp. n., and Ph. (S.) gigantea sp. n.) and three new subspecies (Ph. (S.) bredoides mangochi subsp. n., Ph. (S.) bredoides mutinondo subsp. n., and Ph. (Ph.) townsendi aethiopica subsp. n.) of the genus Phaeophilacris are described.     

New and little known crickets of the subfamily phalangopsinae (Orthoptera,Gryllidae): 5. Neotropical taxa of the tribe Paragryllini

One new genus, two new subgenera, and eight new species from Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela are described. The former genus Hattersleya Nischk et Otte is considered as a subgenus of the genus Neoacla Des. Acla multivenosa Chop., A. reticulata Chop., A. vicina Chop., Selvacla choreutes Otte, S. salvator Otte, S. alsiosus Otte, and S. sophos Otte are transferred to the genus Neoacla, and Desutteria epiplatys Nischk et Otte, to the genus Silvastella Des.-Gr. New data on the geographical and ecological distribution of some species are given.