Phylogeny of the grasshopper family Pyrgomorphidae (Caelifera,Orthoptera) based on morphology

The family P yrgomorphidae (O rthoptera: C aelifera) is considered one of the most colourful grasshopper families, which contains about 500 species distributed worldwide. Commonly referred to as gaudy or bush grasshoppers, many pyrgomorphs are known to be aposematic and capable of sequestering plant secondary compounds. Several species are considered important agricultural pests, while some species are culturally important. Nevertheless, the phylogeny of this family has never been proposed using modern cladistic methods. In this study, we present a phylogenetic analysis of P yrgomorphidae, based on 119 morphological characters with 269 character states, covering 28 out of 31 current recognized tribes. We recovered the monophyly of the family and one of the two currently recognized subfamilies, O rthacridinae. P yrgomorphinae was recovered as paraphyletic. Based on the most parsimonious tree, we propose four main clades and discuss the biology and biogeography of members of these clades. This is the first step towards building a natural classification for P yrgomorphidae, which is an excellent model system for studying the evolution of interesting traits such as wing development, warning coloration and chemical defence.     

Two new species of grasshopper from China (Orthoptera:Pyrgomorphidae)

The genus Chlorizeina Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893 is firstly recorded for China. Two new species, Chlorizeina yunnana sp. nov. and Tagasta nigritibia sp. nov. are reported from China. All specimens are deposited in the Biological Science Museum, Dali University(BMDU).     

A new subfamily of the grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Gomphoceridae) from the Tibetan Plateau of China

Abstract This paper reports a new subfamily, a new genus and a new species, that is, Pacrinae subfam. nov., Pacris gen. nov and Pacris xizangensis sp. nov in Gomphoceridae. The new subfamily is allied to Orinhippinae of Gomphoceridae and it differs from the latter by wings and tympanum absent. The new genus is similar to Orinhippus Uvarov, 1921 but differs from the latter in: (i) foveolae absent; (ii) tegmina absent; (iii) tympanum absent; (iv) hind margin of pronotum with incised in the middle. Type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, China.     

The synonymy and distribution of Atractomorpha acutipennis (Guerin) (Orthoptera:Acridoidea:Pyrgomorphidae)

Atractomorpha acutipennis (Guerin-Meneville) comprises four ill-defined, somewhat arbitrary subspecies: A. a. acutipennis , from Madagascar and the Comoro Islands; A. a. gerstaeckeri Bolivar, widely distributed in Africa; A. a. brevis Uvarov from south-western Arabia; and A. a. blanchardi Bolivar, from other parts of south-western Asia. The full synonymy and the localities from which each subspecies is known are given.     

The synonymy and distribution of the crenaticeps-group of Atractomorpha Saussure, 1862 (Orthoptera, Acridoidea, Pyrgomorphidae)

The general distribution of Atractomorpha australis Rehn, A. similis Bolívar and A. crenaticeps (Blanchard) in Australia and the South Pacific is discussed. Detailed synonymies and lists of known localities are given for each species, together with a distribution map. A. australis is confined to cooler, moister regions of Australia from eastern Victoria to south-western Queensland; A. similis is more tropical, occurring in the southern Moluccas, Timor, southern New Guinea and associated islands to northern and eastern Australia, but it extends, in suitable localities, as far south as central New South Wales, and, in inland areas, even to north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia; A. crenaticeps , formerly thought to embrace both the above species, is restricted to the northern Moluccas, western and other parts of New Guinea north of and including the central mountain chains and associated islands to the north and west, and to the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.     

The synonymy and distribution of the crenulata-and psittacina-groups of Atractomorpha Saussure 1862 (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Pyrgomorphidae)

A full bibliography and the known distributional range, illustrated by maps, are given for Atractomorpha himalayica Bolivar, A. crenulata (Fabricius), A. rhodoptera Karsch, A. angusta Karsch, A. sinensis Bolivar, A. lata (Motschoulsky) (= A. bedeli Bolivar), A. psittacina (Haan) and A. burri Bolivar. A. nipponica Steinmann is newly synonymized with the last. This completes the work for the genus, the aberrans- and crenaticeps-gcoups , and A. acutipennis (Guerin) of the creniWafa-group having been previously considered.     

通辽市草地蝗虫物种多样性及分布研究

为蝗虫预测与综合防治提供参考,应用五点取样法、昆虫分类学和相关动物地理学方法对通辽各地蝗虫物种多样性及其分布进行研究。通辽共分布蝗总科7科12亚科37种,以斑翅蝗科Oedipodidae物种最多(14种),其次为网翅蝗科Arcypteridae(10种)。多样性分析表明扎鲁特旗具有最高的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和丰富度指数,但均匀度最低;开鲁县具有最低的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和丰富度指数。从科的分布范围看,剑角蝗科Acrididae、斑腿蝗科Catantopidae和斑翅蝗科在通辽各地均有分布;而癞蝗科Pamphagidae仅在扎鲁特旗有分布。从物种分布看,黄胫小车蝗Oedaleus infernalis Saussure和短星翅蝗Calliptamus abbreviatus Ikonnikov分布最广,其次为亚洲小车蝗Oedaleus decorus asiaticus B.-Bienko。从分布地区看,扎鲁特旗为物种最丰富(34种)。研究结果显示通辽市蝗虫物种多样性及分布特点与各地的草地面积和类型密切相关。     

蝗虫(直翅目:蝗总科)口器感受器的扫描电镜观察

对蝗总科8种蝗虫的口器感受器的超微结构、类型和分布进行了观察分析,共观察到6种蝗虫口器感受器:毛形感受器、锥形感受器、腔锥形感受器、B(o)hm氏鬃毛、刺形感受器I和刺形感受器Ⅱ,其中B(o)hm氏鬃毛是首次报道.同时对观察到的3种角质齿进行了描述.     

Morphology,development and reproduction of Pyrgomorpha vignaudii (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae)

Pyrgomorpha vignaudii (Guérin‐Méneville, 1849) is a pest of a wide variety of crop plants in Africa. To facilitate the search for a sustainable strategy against this pest, we have studied the post‐embryonic development, morphology and reproduction on Manihot esculenta in the laboratory. Five‐hundred and two larvae at the first stage of development obtained in the laboratory were individually reared in cages. Post‐embryonic development passed through seven stages. The total number of days spent for larval development varied from 77 to 108. The mean duration of development of stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 larvae were, respectively, 16.48 ± 0.43, 14.40 ± 0.55, 13.70 ± 0.61, 15.07 ± 0.84, 15.21 ± 1.31 and 16.21 ± 1.27 days. After the final molt, the females of P. vignaudii take an average of 12.7 ± 1.04 days before the first mating. The time between the first mating and first oviposition ranged from 14 to 34 days (averagely 25.2 ± 4.62 days). The females realized one to nine ovipositions during their lives. The number of eggs per egg‐pods (ootheca) varied from 16 to 93 with a mean of 45.31 ± 3.51. Our results provide valuable information for the search for a control strategy against P. vignaudii.     

中华稻蝗两地理种群酯酶特性的比较研究

对采自江苏徐州和山西临猗两个种群中华稻蝗进行了马拉硫磷敏感性的生物测定,同时对两个种群的酯酶特性进行了比较研究。生物测定结果表明,徐州种群的LD₅₀值（13.00 μg/g虫重）是临猗种群（4.64 μg/g虫重）的2.8倍;用对氧磷、马拉氧磷、西维因及毒扁豆碱等四种抑制剂对该两个种群的酯酶的体外抑制研究表明,两个种群所含酯酶大都为B型酯酶;酯酶动力学研究结果表明,徐州种群动力学参数米氏常数（K_m值）和最大反应速度（V_max值）均较临猗种群为高;用α-乙酸萘酯（α-NA）、α-丁酸萘酯（α-NB）和β-乙酸萘酯（β-NA）三种底物测定酯酶活性,在雌性稻蝗中,徐州种群比临猗种群分别高2.02、1.58和1.28倍,雄性中则分别高2.71、1.67和1.33倍;对两个种群酯酶活性频率分布进行比较,徐州种群中酯酶活性高的个体数远大于临猗种群。我们推测徐州种群酯酶的生化特性可能不同于临猗种群,这可能与地理分布、生态环境和食物条件不同有关,杀虫剂选择压力不同可能也起一定的作用。     

Suggested pharmacophagy of the African bushhopper Phymateus leprosus (Fabricius) (Pyrgomorphidae, Orthoptera)

The bushhopper Phymateus leprosus (Fabricius) in the field shows a special appetite for the milkweed Asclepias fruticosa. Asclepiadaceae, like Apocynaceae and Scrophulariaceae, contain cardiac glycosides. Raw and purified extracts of these plants phagostimulate larval and adult P. leprosus. We also screened natural and half-synthetic compounds found in those plant extracts. While saponins and sapogenins did not stimulate the animals, many cardiac glycosides and aglycones, offered on filter paper, proved to be phagostimulants.     

Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) species diversity in the Pampas, Argentina

Abstract.  A study was conducted to describe the major features of geographical and temporal variation in the diversity of grassland grasshopper species (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) in different sites of the Pampas, Argentina. Species richness and relative abundance were assessed at 12 sites in eastern La Pampa and western Buenos Aires provinces, from 1994 through 1999. Mean species richness at the regional level was 10, and 34 grasshopper species were collected throughout of the study. Comparison with grasshopper species diversity from the Great Plains of North America is discussed. An evaluation of the proportions of species in each of the three distribution groups (broad, intermediate and narrow) revealed that, over all sites, broadly distributed species made up 14.7% of species composition and intermediately and narrowly distributed species made up 26.5% and 58.8%, respectively. The three top-ranked species in the studied sites were Dichroplus elongatus , D. pratensis and Staurorhectus longicornis . Results showed that, contrary to what was expected, one of the widely distributed species in the region (i.e. Baeacris punctulatus ) does not always constitute one of the most abundant species. Finally, the loss of one of the historically most common species in the Pampas, D. maculipennis , is also discussed.     

Complete mitochondrial genome of Oxya chinensis （Orthoptera, Acridoidea）

The complete sequence of Oxya chinensis （0. chinensis） mitochondrial genome is reported here. It is 15,443 bp in length and contains 75.9% A＋T. The protein-coding genes have a similar A＋T content （75.2%）. The initiation codon of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene in the mitochondrial genome of O. chinensis appears to be ATC, instead of the tetranucleotides that have been reported in Locusta migratoria （L migratoria） mitochondrial genome. The sizes of the large and small ribosomal RNA genes are 1319 and 850 bp, respectively. The transfer RNA genes have been modeled and showed strong resemblance to the dipteran transfer RNAs, and all anticodons are identical to those of dipteran. The A＋T-rich region is 562 bp, shorter than that of other known Orthoptera insects. The six conserved domains were identified within the A＋T-rich region by comparing its sequence with those of other grasshoppers. The result of phylogenetic analysis based on the dataset containing 12 concatenated protein sequences confirms the close relation-ship of O. chinensis with L migratoria.     

祁连山北麓四种天然草地蝗虫物种多样性比较研究

为了研究不同草地类型间草地蝗虫多样性的时空变化特性,于2008和2009年6-10月在祁连山北麓4种天然草地设置采样点,用网捕法调查草地蝗虫物种丰富度和相对多度。共捕获到蝗虫28种（亚种）,隶属于7科15属。结果显示：4种不同草地类型平均蝗虫丰富度变化幅度为7～23种,较低的蝗虫丰富度出现在高山灌丛,2008和2009年其丰富度分别为7和8种;而高山草地蝗虫丰富度值最高,两年分别为16和23种;荒漠草地和高山草甸蝗虫丰富度介于以上两者之间,两年间丰富度值分别为15和15及9和12种。结果提示,水热资源状况、草地植被和地貌地势等特性决定的空间异质性对草地蝗虫群落组成、多样性和空间分布产生重要影响,不同生境间草地蝗虫时空分布呈现明显分化。     

云南稻蝗属一新种（直翅目：斑腿蝗科）

记述云南省稻蝗属1新种,即三斑稻蝗Oxya trimaculata sp.nov.。新种近似于小稻蝗O.intricata(Stl,1861)和暗纹稻蝗O.fuscovittata(Marschall,1836),但以下特征区别于后二者:雄性尾须明显侧扁,向端部逐渐趋狭,侧观长三角形,近端部明显或略呈二分支,背支短,端部钝,腹支较长,端部较尖锐;雄性肛上板的三角形后突明显较大;后足股节内侧具3个黑色斑。另外,新种体型较小稻蝗大。模式标本保存于大理学院生物科学博物馆。     

小翅负蝗雌性的记述

首次记述了小翅负蝗Atractomorpha micropennaZheng,1992的雌性。