Latest Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research Latest 5 Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research https://jor.pensoft.net/ Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:09:26 +0200 Pensoft FeedCreator https://jor.pensoft.net/i/logo.jpg Latest Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research https://jor.pensoft.net/ Notes on the distribution, ecology, and life history of Maotoweta virescens (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae, Macropathinae) and a comparison of two survey methods https://jor.pensoft.net/article/86076/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 32(1): 43-53

DOI: 10.3897/jor.32.86076

Authors: James M. H. Tweed, Michael Wakelin, Bruce McKinlay, Tara J. Murray

Abstract: When described in 2014, Maotoweta virescens was believed to be one of New Zealand’s rarest cave wētā (Rhaphidophoridae). Here, we present new information about the distribution, ecology, and life history of the species. M. virescens has now been recorded from indigenous forest sites throughout the length of the western South Island, where it can occur in relatively high abundance. M. virescens shows a close association with arboreal mosses, particularly Weymouthia mollis, roosting within them during the day and feeding on them at night. The wētā has also been documented feeding on lichens and dead insects. The species is hypothesized to have a lifecycle of approximately one year, closely linked to season. Eggs are thought to hatch out relatively quickly after being laid in summer and early autumn, with the species overwintering as nymphs and maturing the following late spring through to early-autumn. Further work is required to fully understand its biology. A comparison was made between active night searching and vegetation beating as two different methods for the detection and monitoring of M. virescens. Beating of W. mollis and other suitable M. virescens microhabitats was found to be significantly more effective than night searching. Our results show that M. virescens is widespread and can occur at relatively high densities within South Island temperate forests, with the species’ perceived rarity to date largely owing to a lack of survey effort and the past use of ineffective sampling methods.

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Research Article Fri, 24 Mar 2023 11:34:26 +0200
Relationships among body size components of three flightless New Zealand grasshopper species (Orthoptera, Acrididae) and their ecological applications https://jor.pensoft.net/article/79819/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 31(1): 91-103

DOI: 10.3897/jor.31.79819

Authors: Fabio Leonardo Meza-Joya, Mary Morgan-Richards, Steven A. Trewick

Abstract: Body size is perhaps the most fundamental property of an organism and is central to ecology at multiple scales, yet obtaining accurate estimates of ecologically meaningful size metrics, such as body mass, is often impractical. Allometric scaling and mass-to-mass relationships have been used as alternative approaches to model the expected body mass of many species. However, models for predicting body size in key herbivorous insects, such as grasshoppers, exist only at the family level. To address this data gap, we collected empirical body size data (hind femur length and width, pronotum length, live fresh mass, ethanol-preserved mass, and dry mass) from 368 adult grasshoppers of three flightless species at Hamilton Peak, Southern Alps, New Zealand. We examined the relationships among body size components across all species using linear and non-linear regression models. Femur length and preserved mass were robust predictors of both fresh mass and dry mass across all species; however, regressions using preserved mass as a predictor always showed higher predictive power than those using femur length. Based on our results, we developed species-specific statistical linear mixed-effects models to estimate the fresh and dry masses of individual grasshoppers from their preserved mass and femur length. Including sex as an additional co-variate increased model fit in some cases but did not produce better estimates than traditional mass-to-mass and allometric scaling regressions. Overall, our results showed that two easy-to-measure, unambiguous, highly repeatable, and non-destructive size measures (i.e., preserved mass and femur length) can predict, to an informative level of accuracy, fresh and dry body mass across three flightless grasshopper species. Knowledge about the relationships between body dimensions and body mass estimates in these grasshoppers has several important ecological applications, which are discussed.

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Research Article Thu, 16 Jun 2022 09:10:11 +0300
Citizen scientists track a charismatic carnivore: Mapping the spread and impact of the South African Mantis (Miomantidae, Miomantis caffra) in Australia https://jor.pensoft.net/article/79332/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 31(1): 69-82

DOI: 10.3897/jor.31.79332

Authors: Matthew G. Connors, Honglei Chen, Haokun Li, Adam Edmonds, Kimberley A. Smith, Colin Gell, Kelly Clitheroe, Ishbel Morag Miller, Kenneth L. Walker, Jack S. Nunn, Linh Nguyen, Luke N. Quinane, Chiara M. Andreoli, Jason A. Galea, Brendon Quan, Katrina Sandiford, Brendan Wallis, Matthew L. Anderson, Elizabeth Valeria Canziani, Jade Craven, Roi R. C. Hakim, Rod Lowther, Cindy Maneylaws, Bastian A. Menz, John Newman, Harvey D. Perkins, Alistair R. Smith, Vanessa H. Webber, Dylan Wishart

Abstract: The recent integration of citizen science with modern technology has greatly increased its applications and has allowed more people than ever to contribute to research across all areas of science. In particular, citizen science has been instrumental in the detection and monitoring of novel introduced species across the globe. This study provides the first records of Miomantis caffra Saussure, 1871, the South African Mantis, from the Australian mainland and uses records from four different citizen science and social media platforms in conjunction with museum records to track the spread of the species through the country. A total of 153 wild mantises and oothecae were observed across four states and territories (New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Victoria, and Western Australia) between 2009 and 2021. The large number of observations of the species in Victoria and the more recent isolated observations in other states and territories suggest that the species initially arrived in Geelong via oothecae attached to plants or equipment, likely from the invasive population in New Zealand. From there it established and spread outwards to Melbourne and eventually to other states and territories, both naturally and with the aid of human transport. We also provide a comparison of M. caffra to similar native mantises, specifically Pseudomantis albofimbriata (Stål, 1860), and comment on the potential impact and further spread of the species within Australia. Finally, we reiterate the many benefits of engaging directly with citizen scientists in biodiversity research and comment on the decision to include them in all levels of this research investigation.

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Research Article Thu, 19 May 2022 08:00:03 +0300
Viability and fertility of hybrid New Zealand tree wētā Hemideina spp. (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) https://jor.pensoft.net/article/14963/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 27(2): 97-106

DOI: 10.3897/jor.27.14963

Authors: Natasha E. Mckean, Steven A. Trewick, Melissa J. Griffin, Eddy J. Dowle, Mary Morgan-Richards

Abstract: Natural hybridization between species provides an opportunity to study the mechanisms that maintain independent lineages and may help us understand the process of speciation. The New Zealand tree wētā species Hemideina thoracica produces F1 hybrids where it lives in sympatry with two closely related species: Hemideina crassidens and Hemideina trewicki. This study looked at the viability and fertility of F1 hybrid wētā between H. thoracica and H. crassidens that were collected from the wild and kept in captivity. The hybrids appeared to have normal viability from the late juvenile stage, with all male wētā maturing at a late instar. Male F1 hybrids displayed normal mating behavior and one male produced offspring in captivity. In contrast to Haldane’s rule, female F1 hybrids appeared to be infertile; they refused to mate and did not produce eggs. No evidence of Wolbachia infection was identified in any of the three North Island Hemideina species.

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Research Article Fri, 29 Jun 2018 22:23:06 +0300
Population expansion by Cook Strait giant wētā, Deinacrida rugosa (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae), following translocation to Matiu/Somes Island, New Zealand, and subsequent changes in abundance https://jor.pensoft.net/article/21712/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 26(2): 171-180

DOI: 10.3897/jor.26.21712

Authors: Corinne Watts, Danny Thornburrow, Ian Stringer, Vanessa Cave

Abstract: Wētā, large wingless anostostomatid orthopterans, have been the most frequently translocated insects in New Zealand. Until recently, such translocations were only monitored intermittently to confirm presence. We investigate the spread of Cook Strait giant wētā (Deinacrida rugosa Buller, 1871) after its release on Matiu/Somes Island, Wellington, New Zealand, in 1996. Adult wētā were surveyed from 2008 to 2016 using footprint tracking tunnels and/or searching with spotlights at night. The population underwent a reversal in distributional abundance after 2008. In 2008, they were abundant in the north and rare in the south but by 2013 and 2015 they were relatively less abundant in the north and common in the south. Why they diminished in the north remains unknown but possible causes are predation on juvenile wētā by nocturnal geckos (detected in the north and east but not in the south), by some habitat change (mostly reduction of some lawn), or by a combination of these together with removal of wētā from the north for translocation elsewhere. Further research is required to confirm which of these factors affect wētā abundance, if there are other causes, and if any further change in distributional abundance occurs.

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Research Article Wed, 6 Dec 2017 09:28:38 +0200