Ecofauna of Orthopterans (Orthoptera) in the Foothills and Mountains of Southern Russia

Species composition and distribution of orthopterans in the foothills and mountains of Southern Russia were studied on the basis of original and published data. The list includes 175 orthopteran species in 86 genera. Their origin was considered and current range types of orthopteran genera were analyzed. Six ecological groups associated with different habitats were recognized.     

Ecofauna of Orthoptera in the Deserts and Semideserts of Southern Russia

Species composition and distribution of orthopterans in the deserts and semideserts of Southern Russia were studied on the basis of original and published data. The list includes 112 orthopteran species in 60 genera. Their origin was considered and current range types of orthopteran genera were analyzed. Five ecological groups associated with different habitats were recognized.     

Conservation of orthopteran biological diversity relative to landscape change in temperate Eurasia

This paper discusses orthopteran conservation in temperate and subtropical Eurasia. Distribution patterns of the orthopteran centres of diversity and endemism are described. Eleven main areas of diversity and endemism are identified. The majority of rare taxa are associated with these areas. The distribution of protected areas is discussed in relation to orthopteran conservation. Some proposals for inclusion or exclusion of certain orthopteran species on the IUCN and national Red Lists are debated. Emphasis is given to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem mosaics for orthopteran biodiversity conservation.     

Composition and dynamics of communities of orthopteran insects (orthoptera) in southwestern Tajikistan. II. Hillside communities

The formation of orthopteran communities in the mountains of southwestern Tajikistan is described, with their seasonal dynamics characterized on the basis of counts. It is shown that the dominance structure changes with altitude. The valleys and slopes of different altitudinal belts play an important role in the formation of communities of orthopteran insects.     

陕西吴起县生态恢复区直翅目昆虫的多样性

应用多样性指数、主成分分析及多元逐步回归等方法,对陕西吴起县生态恢复区直翅目昆虫的群落结构,植被因素与直翅目昆虫群落特征的相关性进行研究。共获得标本1 155号,隶属于10科17属,共计20种。黄胫小车蝗Oedaleus infernalis Saussure,宽翅曲背蝗Pararcyptera microptera meridionalis,短星翅蝗Calliptamus abbreviatusIkonn分别占总数量的17.58%,15.15%和14.89%,共同构成该地区直翅目昆虫的优势类群。多样性的变化趋势是县城>白豹>周湾>王洼。对各生境植被因素和直翅目昆虫群落所进行的主成分分析,两维主成分的累计方差贡献率分别达到了95.299%和86.304%。影响直翅目昆虫种类和数量变化的植被因素有草本植物高度多样性、草本植物种数、菊科优势度、禾本科优势度、其他科优势度。     

济南地区直翅目昆虫群落多样性

济南地区位于鲁中丘陵山区和黄河冲积平原交接地带 ,境内生境丰富多样。研究不同生境中直翅目昆虫群落的组成及多样性既有重要的理论意义又有现实的应用价值。近来对该地区直翅目昆虫的研究成果已有报道[2 ,3 ,6 ],但有关多样性的工作还少有研究。作者于 1 994年对本地区的直翅目昆虫做了较为全面的调查 ,应用生境型的概念[9,13],将直翅目昆虫分布的 1 3种生境划分为 5个生境型[2 ]。在此基础上本文着重研究了直翅目昆虫群落的多样性及环境等因素与群落多样性的关系。1　自然条件概况济南位于山东省中部 ,整个地势南高北低。南部为鲁中丘陵…     

Distribution patterns of four Orthoptera species in relation to microhabitat heterogeneity in an ecotonal area

Microhabitat heterogeneity is considered to be one of the main factors affecting the structure and diversity of natural communities. This study evaluated: (i) whether it is possible to associate the distribution of four orthopteran species with small-scale spatial microhabitat heterogeneity based on floristic composition; and (ii) whether interspecific differences exist in microhabitat was among the different orthopteran species over a gradient of vegetation succession induced by abandonment of meadows. Orthoptera and plant species were sampled on 72 plots across an ecotonal area on Monte Bondone in the Southern Italian Alps. Microhabitats were identified based on grassland and undergrowth vegetation composition and by classifying sample plots using cluster analysis. Eight microhabitats were identified, each corresponding to a separate successional stage, and microhabitat use by each species was assessed. The distribution of orthopteran species revealed a different use of microhabitats. Species also had differing patterns of distribution, and a shift in distribution occurred following a change in microhabitat structure caused by mowing. The importance of the maintenance of a mosaic of microhabitats, with differently managed adjacent areas is discussed.     

Conserving Orthoptera in the wild: lessons from Trimerotropis infantilis (Oedipodinae)

Orthopteran species are increasingly threatened with extinction in the wild. I review the state of orthopteran conservation in the wild, focusing on unique challenges facing these efforts. To provide a basis for discussion, I first review conservation efforts for Trimerotropis infantilis, the Zayante bandwinged grasshopper, which was the first orthopteran given official protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. I then address the principal challenges for orthopteran conservation. Successful conservation of Orthoptera in the wild will require motivation for conservation action, availability of basic biological information, and development of applied management programmes.     

Seasonal changes of microclimatic conditions in grasslands and its influence on orthopteran assemblages

We examined the microclimate of different grasslands and the relationships between the seasonal changes in the microclimatic conditions and the structural characteristics of orthopteran assemblages in the most typical grassland types of the plain, hilly and submontaneous territories of Central Europe in 2000–2005 years. According to our results: (i) The seasonal changes of humidity were characteristic of the vegetation units; (ii) The microclimate components of grasslands with similar habitat structure could be similar independently from their ecological circumstances; (iii) The microclimatic changes influenced the structure of the orthopteran assemblages.     

Minor changes in orthopteran assemblages of Central European protected dry grasslands during the last 40 years

During the past 50 years development of farming practices caused tremendous changes in European agricultural landscapes and many insect species became increasingly restricted to protected areas. Yet little is known about long-term trends of insect diversity and community composition in these often small reserves. We performed a comparative study on changes in orthopteran communities of protected dry grasslands in East Germany, which had been surveyed in the 1960s. Applying the same sampling techniques, we revisited 26 of the original sites in 2008 and 2009. Nearly all sites are controlled by conservation policies and changes in vegetation composition were relatively small, although some sites showed shrub encroachment. Changes in orthopteran diversity were not significant. Community composition showed minor changes which were correlated with evidence of woody plant encroachment as derived from historical and recent aerial imagery. The frequency of some Caelifera species decreased from the 1960s to 2008/2009 with one species inhabiting bare soils (Myrmeleotettix maculatus) showing the strongest decline. Some Ensifera, especially two species inhabiting open woodland and scrub (Tettigonia viridissima, Phaneroptera falcata) showed positive trends. Nevertheless, three different regions (each belonging to a different German federal state) had shown distinct orthopteran assemblages in the 1960s, and these were equally different 40 years later. We conclude that the orthopteran fauna of Central European protected dry grasslands showed small changes in species composition, and overall diversity remained rather constant during the past 40 years, which is in accordance with the minor changes in the surrounding landscape. Consequently, the applied conservation management practises—mainly sheep grazing and trimming—are largely effective.     

Early changes of orthopteran assemblages after grassland restoration: a comparison of space-for-time substitution versus repeated measures monitoring

Although grasslands harbour significant biodiversity and their restoration is common in biodiversity conservation, we know very little about how such interventions influence arthropod groups. Here we compared orthopteran assemblages in croplands, natural grasslands and one to four-year-old grasslands restored in a large-scale programme in Hortobágy National Park (East Hungary). We sampled orthopterans by standardized sweep-netting both in a repeated measures design from Year 0 (croplands) to 4 and in a space-for-time substitution (chronosequence) design in 2009. Species richness, abundance and Shannon diversity of orthopterans decreased in Year 1 following restoration, but increased afterwards. By Year 4, species richness doubled and abundance increased almost ten-fold in restored grasslands compared to croplands. Species composition diversified compared to croplands and progressed towards natural grasslands. Local restoration conditions (last crop, seed mixture) and landscape configuration (proportion of natural grasslands) did not influence the above patterns in either study design, whereas time since restoration affected almost all community variables. We found that ubiquitous generalist species were the first to appear in restored grasslands and that species characteristic to the target natural grasslands colonised gradually in later years. The qualitative and quantitative properties of the orthopteran assemblages in restored fields did not yet reach those of natural grasslands, therefore, our study suggests that the full regeneration of the orthopteran assemblages takes more than four years. We also concluded that the repeated-measures design was more sensitive to subtle changes and was thus more effective than the chronosequence design at detecting post-restoration changes in orthopteran assemblages.     

Management of orthopteran pests: a conservation perspective

Although the vast majority of orthopterans are not pests, some species have the potential to cause serious damage to human interests. Management of pest populations frequently conflicts with conservation of orthopteran species and processes, particularly when the pest species or its ecological processes are susceptible to extinction or when the pest population is coincident with non-target orthopterans. With respect to chemical control, the greatest hazards are the broad-spectrum, highly lethal properties of most agents, which can be mitigated with formulation and application methods. Biological control risks permanent, large-scale changes to orthopteran species and processes which can be minimized with bioinsecticidal and other short-lived or selective formulations and reliable host-range testing. Cultural control may have large-scale, broad-spectrum impacts to non-target orthopterans, but these hazards can be diminished by appropriate testing and monitoring. Mechanical control methods may be impractically labour intensive, but they are highly target specific and therefore warrant further consideration. Social control measures such as education, insurance and compensation programmes appear to have little direct potential for harm to orthopteran conservation, but the complex socioeconomic and, ultimately, environmental consequences of such programmes have not been assessed. The melding of orthopteran pest management and conservation requires that we perceive these insects and their ecological processes to be vital elements of sustainable agroecosystems. Our management of orthopterans (both non-target and pest populations) must focus on keeping good stewards on the land.     

意大利蝗痘病毒与西伯利亚蝗痘病毒包涵体蛋白基因序列分析(英文)

本文报道了意大利蝗痘病毒(CiEPV)与西伯利亚蝗痘病毒(GsEPV)包涵体蛋白基因序列分析。CiEPV与GsEPV包涵体蛋白基因分别包含2922bps,2967bps的开放阅读框架,编码109.2kDa,111.1kDa蛋白质。与鳞翅目及鞘翅目昆虫痘病毒包涵体蛋白氨基酸的同源性低于20％,而与其他直翅目昆虫痘病毒包涵体蛋白氨基酸的同源性均高于80％。CiEPV与GsEPV包涵体蛋白分别包含19与21半胱氨酸位点,主要分布在C-末端,半胱氨酸位点的数目与位置均类似于其他直翅目昆虫痘病毒包涵体蛋白。此两种痘病毒包涵体蛋白基因的启动子区域基因序列保守,富含A+T并且具有典型的痘病毒晚期启动子信号TAAATG。同时在此两种痘病毒包涵体基因的下游均克隆了另一个不完整的基因序列,此基因与血黑蝗痘病毒的MSV072基因同源,并且相对于包涵体蛋白基因为反向。     

Characterization of apolipophorin III from Barytettix psolus and Melanoplus differentialis

Apolipophorin III has been isolated and characterized from two orthopteran species, Barytettix psolus and Melanoplus differentialis. Both apoLp-IIIs have M_r ∼ 20,000 and contain 5% covalently bound sugar. Compositional analysis of the carbohydrate component of these apoLp-IIIs, as well as Locusta migratoria apoLp-III, revealed the presence of manose, fucose and N-acetyl glucosamine. In all three proteins the ratios of these sugar residues was similar (∼2:2:1). Amino acid analysis of B. psolus and M. differentialis apoLp-IIIs was performed and the results compared with those from L. migratoria and M. sexta apoLp-IIIs. The three orthopteran apoLp-IIIs possessed very similar compositions that were distinct from that of M. sexta. Similarly, N-terminal sequence analysis revealed ∼50% sequence identity between the three orthopteran apoLp-IIIs but only 9–18% identity was observed when B. psolus or M. differentialis apoLp-IIIs were compared to M. sexta apoLp-III. The implications of these findings, with respect to flight-related physiology and adipokinetic hormone stimulated lipid mobilization in these different species, is discussed.     

DNA barcoding of crickets,katydids and grasshoppers (Orthoptera) from Central Europe with focus on Austria,Germany and Switzerland

We present a DNA barcoding study on the insect order Orthoptera that was generated in collaboration between four barcoding projects in three countries, viz. Barcoding Fauna Bavarica (Germany), German Barcode of Life, Austrian Barcode of Life and Swiss Barcode of Life. Our data set includes 748 COI sequences from 127 of the 162 taxa (78.4%) recorded in the three countries involved. Ninety‐three of these 122 species (76.2%, including all Ensifera) can be reliably identified using DNA barcodes. The remaining 26 caeliferan species (families Acrididae and Tetrigidae) form ten clusters that share barcodes among up to five species, in three cases even across different genera, and in six cases even sharing individual barcodes. We discuss incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization as most likely causes of this phenomenon, as the species concerned are phylogenetically young and hybridization has been previously observed. We also highlight the problem of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (numts), a known problem in the barcoding of orthopteran species, and the possibility of Wolbachia infections. Finally, we discuss the possible taxonomic implications of our barcoding results and point out future research directions.     

Association of reticular cells with CD34+/Sca-1+ apoptotic cells in the hemopoietic organ of grasshopper, Euprepocnemis shirakii

Hemopoiesis in orthopteran insects occurs in a hemopoietic organ that is located bilaterally along the aorta. This organ is also known as a reticulo-hemopoietic organ because of the rich presence of reticular cells. This study was performed to further elucidate hemopoiesis in the reticulo-hemopoietic organ of an orthopteran, Euprepocnemis shirakii. We focused on the question why reticular cells are so abundant (35% of cells in hemopoietic organ). Interestingly, 21% of these reticular cells surrounded hemocytes with their reticular cytoplasm. The surrounded hemocytes were distinguished by their different size and darkly stained nucleus. These cells were characterized by immunostaining using antibodies against several types of hemocytes: 45% of the surrounded hemocytes were CD34+, and these positive cells were double stained (over 85%) when immunostained by another hemopoietic pluripotent cell marker, Sca-1. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed that reticular cells surrounded hemocytes containing large nuclei and poorly developed cytoplasmic organelles. This strongly suggests that the reticular cells surround hemopoietic stem cells. Additionally, surrounded hemopoietic progenitor cells are undergoing apoptosis as indicated by the TUNEL assay. The enclosed apoptotic cells are engulfed and then phagocytosed by reticular cells. Our results suggest that reticular cells are related to the differentiation and apoptosis of hemopoietic stem cells.     

Diversity of some insect fauna in industrial and non-industrial areas of West Bengal, India

The present work is designed to study diversity of five insect orders (viz., Hemiptera, Orthoptera, aculeate Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera) in the industrial region of Haldia (India) and in non-industrial area of the same district and to evaluate the impact of industrialization on the biodiversity of those insect orders. The objective also extended to find out the possibility of existence of bioindicator, if any. Eight study sites were selected from the East part of Midnapur district covering 40 km aerial distance. Out of eight different study sites, five were distributed in and around Haldia industrial complex and three in industry-free area. During this study, a total of 120 species under 98 genera in 37 families of insects were collected. Binary data of 5 orders revealed that the species richness of Hemiptera, Orthoptera and Lepidoptera is higher in non-industrial zone in comparison to that of industrial zone. Aculeate Hymenoptera shows no particular trend whereas Coleoptera shows higher species richness in industrial areas. Results of multivariate analyses are compared with the species richness data for all the eight study sites. It is concluded that even in an apparently homogeneous ecological condition species richness may drastically change with the influence of industries. Total insect fauna decline by at least 23.33% is noticed in industrial areas. It is found that some species of lepidopteran, hemipteran and orthopteran insects are susceptible to industrial pollution and some of the members of these orders may be considered as a bioindicator group.     

Isolation of a cDNA encoding a CHH-family peptide from the silkworm Bombyx mori

The crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) peptide family includes four types of neuropeptide in decapod and isopod crustaceans, and the ion-transport peptide in orthopteran insects. To identify a new member of this family in Insecta, a PCR-based search for cDNAs encoding CHH-family peptides was carried out in the silkworm Bombyx mori. A cDNA, named BmCHHL (Bombyx mori CHH-like protein), with an open reading frame of 110 amino acids was isolated. Sequence analyses suggested that the conceptual protein was a precursor of a peptide of 72 amino acids which was amidated at the carboxy terminus. The BmCHHL sequence exhibited significant similarities to members of the CHH family including the orthopteran ion-transport peptide. BmCHHL expression was detected in five or six cells (per hemisphere) in the frontal area of the brain in day 4 fifth instar larvae.     

Shading out species richness: edge effect of a pine plantation on the Orthoptera (Tettigoniidae and Acrididae) assemblage of an adjacent dry grassland

Edge effects are increasingly recognised as a threat to interior species, but the influence of edges on open habitats has rarely been addressed so far. We investigated the diversity pattern of the Orthoptera fauna across a habitat edge between a pine plantation and a natural steppe ecosystem. Thirty pitfall traps were positioned along a transect line from 80 m in the forest to 208 m in the grassland at 10 fixed distances from the edge. The orthopteran assemblage of the pine plantation was depauperate in species and individuals and, with a few exceptions, lacked steppe species. We found no increase in species richness at the forest–grassland edge. In the grassland, Orthoptera species numbers increased steadily with increasing distance from the forest edge. Two-phase regression analysis revealed a traceable edge effect up to about 30 m into the grassland. This effect was exclusively caused by an increase in acridid species numbers, while tettigoniid species numbers showed no clear relation to edge distance. Correlation analysis of the habitat variables suggested that this pattern is a result of irradiance and soil temperature sums. Since acridids show species-specific temperature requirements for their development, shading of the soil surface prevents a number of species from completing their life cycle. We suggest that present trends of shrub encroachment and eutrophication of dry grassland habitats in eastern Austria are serious threats for a large part of the orthopteran fauna.