Latest Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research Latest 8 Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research https://jor.pensoft.net/ Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:56:16 +0200 Pensoft FeedCreator https://jor.pensoft.net/i/logo.jpg Latest Articles from Journal of Orthoptera Research https://jor.pensoft.net/ The pet mantis market: a first overview on the praying mantis international trade (Insecta, Mantodea) https://jor.pensoft.net/article/71458/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 31(1): 63-68

DOI: 10.3897/jor.31.71458

Authors: Roberto Battiston, William Di Pietro, Kris Anderson

Abstract: Praying mantises have recently gained popularity as domestic pets. Moreover, they are increasingly being bred and sold in fairs and pet markets or collected in the wild and reared by amateurs or professional marketers for the hobbyist community. This market is not well known, and its implications on the biology and conservation of these insects are complex and difficult to predict. For this study, a comprehensive survey was submitted to various hobbyists within this community to evaluate their knowledge of these insects and to assess their preferences for certain species characteristics (such as shape, color, behaviors, dimensions, ease of breeding, and rarity) over others. The aggregation of this data allowed for the generation of a formula that is herein proposed to predict targets and developments within the market in order to help identify conservation issues for vulnerable species. Both problems and opportunities of the pet mantis market are discussed, such as the absence of specific regulations or the potential for a stronger collaboration between the market community and scientists.

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Research Article Thu, 19 May 2022 08:00:02 +0300
Discovering insect species based on photographs only: The case of a nameless species of the genus Scaria (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) https://jor.pensoft.net/article/65885/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 30(2): 173-184

DOI: 10.3897/jor.30.65885

Authors: Niko Kasalo, Maks Deranja, Karmela Adžić, Roberto Sindaco, Josip Skejo

Abstract: A heated debate on whether a new species should be described without a physical specimen, i.e., by designating a photographed specimen to serve as a holotype, has been ongoing for a long time. Herewith, without nomenclatural actions, a new species of the Batrachidein pygmy grasshoppers belonging to the genus Scaria Bolívar, 1887 is identified from the Andean rainforest in Peru. This species is clearly different from all its congeners by morphology and coloration. Two individuals of this peculiar species are known only from the photographs found on iNaturalist. The species has not been observed since 2008 when the photographs were taken. A short historical overview of the topic is given, illustrating the pros and cons of photograph-based species description. The concepts of names, holotypes, research effort, and conservation are discussed and related to the problem at hand. The current state of the taxonomic community’s beliefs regarding this issue is reflected by the authors’ three unsuccessful attempts to name this new species.

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Research Article Tue, 14 Dec 2021 20:52:10 +0200
Aspects of the life history and ecology of two wingless grasshoppers, Eremidium armstrongi and Eremidium browni (Lentulidae), at the Doreen Clark Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa https://jor.pensoft.net/article/59153/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 30(1): 73-80

DOI: 10.3897/jor.30.59153

Authors: Reshmee Brijlal, Akeel Rajak, Adrian J. Armstrong

Abstract: Most grasshopper species have simple and similar life cycles and histories; however, different environmental and ecological factors have different effects on their distribution, sexes, and developmental stages, with effects varying among species. If we are to conserve grasshoppers, we need to understand their ecology and life histories. The aim of this study was to investigate aspects of the life histories and ecology of two recently described co-occurring, congeneric species of wingless grasshoppers, Eremidium armstrongi (Brown, 2012) and Eremidium browni Otte & Armstrong, 2017, at the Doreen Clark Nature Reserve near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. These two species have limited extents of occurrence, only being known from an endangered forest type in parts of the midland area of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, and therefore may need conservation action to ensure their long-term survival. No significant differences in the abundances of the two Eremidium grasshoppers were found, but their phenologies differed, with the adults of E. armstrongi being present before the adults of E. browni, with some overlap in presence over time. The Eremidium grasshoppers were only found in the forest and were more abundant in the forest margin. The Eremidium grasshoppers fed on soft plants from several families. Information on dietary differences between the species is required to determine whether there is potential competition between them. An adult E. browni female kept in an ex situ terrarium laid eggs in the soil, and nymphs took approximately two months to hatch.

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Research Article Wed, 12 May 2021 02:47:22 +0300
Life history of the false flower mantid (Harpagomantis tricolor Linnaeus, 1758) (Mantodea: Galinthiadidae) and its distribution in southern Africa https://jor.pensoft.net/article/52816/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 30(1): 17-26

DOI: 10.3897/jor.30.52816

Authors: Bianca Greyvenstein, Hannalene du Plessis, Johnnie Van den Berg

Abstract: The false flower mantid is the common name for the Mantodea species Harpagomantis tricolor (Linnaeus, 1758). This species uses camouflage as a defense mechanism. Limited information (Kaltenbach 1996, 1998) exists on its distribution in southern Africa or about its life history. This species, and Mantodea to an extent, are not usually included in biodiversity studies from this region. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of this species in southern Africa based on museum collection records and to study the biology of Harpagomantis tricolor under captive breeding conditions. The distribution of Harpagomantis and its morphological variety, i.e., discolor, were determined utilising the historical insect collection records of seven national museums throughout South Africa. Field collected H. tricolor males and females were mated and reared under laboratory conditions to record their life history parameters of nymphal duration, oothecae structure, size and incubation duration, adult longevity, and sex ratio. The results of this study indicate that the mean duration of the lifecycle of H. tricolor is 191.33 ± 37.96 days. All but three H. tricolor individuals had five nymphal instars, and the mean duration of the nymphal stage was 140.20 ± 31.03 days. The mean duration of copulation was six hours, while the average incubation period of oothecae was 144.71 ± 9.33 days. These results indicate that oothecae of H. tricolor probably overwinter under field conditions and that males of this species have evolved various mechanisms to increase the likelihood of ensuring their own genetic offspring. This study bridges the gap in rudimental research in which Mantodea, in general, has been overlooked and establishes a basis on which ecological interactions, habitat preferences, and imminent threats to H. tricolor can be established.

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Research Article Thu, 18 Feb 2021 03:09:04 +0200
Effects of grazing on orthopteran assemblages of Central-European sand grasslands https://jor.pensoft.net/article/15033/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 27(1): 23-33

DOI: 10.3897/jor.27.15033

Authors: Zoltan Kenyeres

Abstract: The effect of grazing on Orthoptera assemblages has long been the focus of research worldwide due to the high sensitivity of orthopterans to changes in vegetation structure. According to previous studies, grazing has individual, spatially-different effects on orthopteran assemblages. The current case study was carried out between 2012 and 2016 in a subarea dominated by open sandy grasslands in the Carpathian Basin. The ~70 ha study area was grazed by 250–300 sheep in 2012. In the beginning of 2014, the overgrazing pressure was overall reduced, for the most part, in the examined grassland patches. The study aimed to answer how the complete abandonment of grazing and moderate grazing influences the species richness, diversity and density of the orthopteran assemblages. Investigations in Central European sand steppes confirmed that both intense grazing and the abandonment of grazing have a detrimental effect on the structure of orthopteran assemblages: (a) the Shannon diversity index was higher on moderately grazed sites than on grazed and ungrazed ones; (b) the number of habitat specialists of sandy grasslands was higher on moderately grazed patches than in grazed habitats; and (c) the frequency of geophilic species was higher on grazed patches than on moderately grazed and grazing-abandoned ones.

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Research Article Tue, 12 Jun 2018 18:52:13 +0300
Is cattle grazing more important than landscape heterogeneity for grasshoppers in Afromontane grassland? https://jor.pensoft.net/article/15027/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 27(1): 13-21

DOI: 10.3897/jor.27.15027

Authors: Lize Joubert-Van der Merwe, James S. Pryke

Abstract: Overgrazing is a major driver of habitat degradation, especially in southern Africa. Although grasshoppers are adapted to and benefit from natural disturbances, such as grazing by indigenous game and burning, we do not know how they respond to heavy cattle grazing, and how this response interacts with different fire regimes. We also do not know whether grasshoppers respond principally to these disturbances, to changes in the vegetation layer, or to larger landscape attributes (e.g. elevation). We addressed these questions in the topographically heterogeneous Central Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. We compared grasshopper assemblages among sites differing in grazing intensity (light, moderate and heavy), fire regime, rocky outcrops and vegetation structure, and attributes of landscape heterogeneity. The local environment (rocky outcrops, bare ground cover, grass height and total vegetation cover) was more important than landscape attributes for all measures of diversity. Grasshopper species richness was best explained by grazing intensity, with the specific response determined by fire regime. Greatest species richness was consistently recorded in heavily-grazed grassland. Thus, we found no evidence in support of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. Grasshopper assemblage composition of areas with light grazing was different from those with heavy grazing, but areas with light grazing were similar to those with moderate grazing under all fire regimes. Different suites of grasshopper species were adapted to changes in the local environment, with greatest diversity (Shannon H’) associated with elevated levels of bare ground and sparse vegetation cover. The greatest proportion of rare, endemic and sensitive grasshoppers (incl. Lentula minuta, Machaeridia conspersa and Qachasia fastigiata) was associated with a greater proportion of vegetation cover. The sensitivity of grasshopper assemblages to fire-grazing interactions, and the habitat requirements of different suites of species necessitates consideration of different types (fire and grazing) as well as levels of disturbances when adjusting management practices. We recommend that conservation of rare, endemic and sensitive grasshoppers should be prioritized, as these are most vulnerable to local extirpation.

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Research Article Tue, 12 Jun 2018 17:11:21 +0300
Fine-scale interactions between habitat quality and genetic variation suggest an impact of grazing on the critically endangered Crau Plain grasshopper (Pamphagidae: Prionotropis rhodanica) https://jor.pensoft.net/article/15036/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 27(1): 61-73

DOI: 10.3897/jor.27.15036

Authors: Sylvain Piry, Karine Berthier, Réjane Streiff, Sandrine Cros-Arteil, Antoine Foucart, Laurent Tatin, Linda Bröder, Axel Hochkirch, Marie-Pierre Chapuis

Abstract: The Crau Plain grasshopper, Prionotropis rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 (Orthoptera: Pamphagidae: Thrinchinae), is a rare grasshopper species endemic to the Crau Plain, a steppic habitat in France with unique floristic and faunistic communities. During recent decades, the area covered by these steppic grasslands has been highly reduced and fragmented due to the development of irrigation-based agriculture, roads, as well as industrial and military complexes. The restricted distribution, low population density and poor dispersal ability of P. rhodanica, combined with the destruction of its habitat, has led to the classification of this species as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Decreases in habitat quality due to intensive grazing in the remnant grassland patches constitute an additional threat for P. rhodanica that can impact population dynamics at a relatively small-scale. In this work, we focused on a small area of about 3 km2 occupied by one of the largest subpopulations observed in 2000–2001. We conducted a single-time snapshot intensive survey of grasshopper density and genetic variation at 11 microsatellite markers. We used a recent method, MAPI, to visualize the spatial genetic structure as a continuous surface and to determine, with the simultaneous use of spatial cross-correlograms, whether the normalized difference vegetation index, which informs on the balance between vegetation productivity and grazing intensity, can explain grasshopper population structure at such a fine scale. We found that both population density and gene flow were strongly and positively correlated to habitat quality (higher productivity of grasslands and/or lower sheep grazing). The spatial scales of interaction between these variables were estimated to be highly similar, in the range of 812–880 meters. This result suggests that P. rhodanica is very sensitive to the quality of the grasslands it inhabits.

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Research Article Tue, 12 Jun 2018 16:44:16 +0300
The lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus: lessons from habitat management at its only site in the British Isles https://jor.pensoft.net/article/15123/ Journal of Orthoptera Research 27(1): 83-89

DOI: 10.3897/jor.27.15123

Authors: Richard G. Selman, Andrew J. Cherrill

Abstract: The lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus, occurs at a single site in the British Isles. This paper describes the history of site protection and management over 30 years including the introduction of conservation grazing management. Successes have been limited, but this has been due largely to issues around recreational access and stakeholder engagement rather than lack of ecological understanding. Despite severe challenges, sufficient experience has been gained to be confident that grazing by sheep can assist in re-establishing the grasshopper over areas of a protected site from which it is now absent or present in only scattered colonies. The grasshopper requires a short, open grassland and pockets of such vegetation occur naturally because of rabbit-grazing and thin, nutrient poor, free-draining soils around rocky outcrops. These small areas have proved to be critical to the species persistence and provide a nucleus from which spread can occur. Grazing management has involved complex negotiations with multiple stakeholders, including landowners, their agents, the landowners’ tenants, and the tenants’ graziers. Public access, cases of dogs worrying grazing livestock, and objections over the introduction of fencing in a once open landscape have made negotiations more difficult. Future success requires that these issues be addressed. Observations on a golf course within the site, with a remnant population of the grasshopper, suggest that winter-cutting of grassland may be a useful supplement to grazing management while such difficulties remain.

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Research Article Tue, 12 Jun 2018 05:25:12 +0300