Calliptamus

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Calliptamus
Calliptamus plebejus

Calliptamus plebejus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Grasshoppers (Orthoptera)
Subordination : Short-antennae terrors (Caelifera)
Family : Field locusts (Acrididae)
Subfamily : Creamer (Calliptaminae)
Genre : Calliptamus
Scientific name
Calliptamus
Serville , 1831

Calliptamus is a genus of field locusts with a Palearctic distribution, in Europe especially in the Mediterranean region. The species prefer warm, dry, mostly steppe-like habitats. Some species tend to mass reproduce locally and are then considered pests in agriculture.

features

These are small to medium-sized grasshoppers with a predominantly gray color, mostly with red or orange parts, very often with red colored rear rails. The head is rounded in profile, when viewed from above the part (called fastigium) protruding forward between the antenna bases is also rounded with a central edge. The pronotum has a clear central keel and two equally distinctive, almost straight side kills, which sometimes become indistinct immediately in front of the rear edge. The surface is raised across it in three bulges (sulci). The pronotum has an almost rectangular cross-section with vertically sloping sides and a flat top. The front breast (prosternum) has a clear, cone-shaped hump. The front wings ( Tegmina ) are always well developed, the animals are capable of flying. Depending on the species, they reach over the tip of the back knees or are slightly shorter; their shape also varies a little towards the tip depending on the species. The hind wings are crystal clear (hyaline) or with a broad basal, light red or pink transverse band. The ankle bones are large with very strong femora, which usually have a pattern of three dark spots on the inside, but these can be fused, or partially reduced, or lightened reddish.

The genus can only be reliably differentiated from related genera in the male sex; even within the genus, the females are often not identifiable down to the species. In the male, the tip of the abdomen is thickened somewhat like a club, the ninth and tenth tergites are fused. The detailed shape of the Aedeagus and its valves is essential for the definition of the genus. The cerci are tweezer-like manner bent in plan view to the inside, they are three-lobed at the top, the top flap wide and lamellar.

The species of the genus can be distinguished by DNA barcoding .

Habitats and way of life

All species of the genus live in steppe-like habitats up to semi-deserts. The vegetation cover must not be complete. In the south of France, four species of the genus sometimes live side by side in the same habitat. As far as is known, all species feed unspecially on both grasses and herb species (" dicotyledons "). The animals do not avoid habitats disturbed by humans, but are absent in the intensively cultivated land. Eggs are laid in the ground in an ootheca . The species have five nymph stages. Mating is preceded by a foreplay in which the male moves in front of the female, emitting short sounds that are generated by rubbing the mandibles , and rhythmically moving the (colored) hind legs (without participating in the sound generation). Similar sounds are also produced when two males meet as rivals. In Calliptamus barbarus two color morphs living next to each other (with different markings on the hind legs) also differ somewhat in their singing; an indication of beginning separation (speciation).

At least the most common species, Calliptamus italicus, tends to multiply in favorable environmental conditions and is a feared agricultural pest, especially in Central Asia. In 1997, for example, the affected area in southern Russia comprised several hundred thousand hectares and the larval density in some cases more than 1,000 individuals per square meter. Like other migratory locusts , they develop a special shape at high density, which is characterized by relatively longer wings. In contrast to other migratory locusts, the nymphs of the migratory phase do not differ in color from the solitary ones. Mass reproductions with damage still occur occasionally in southern Europe, for example in 2002 near Podgorica (Montenegro). Other species of the genus are also considered to be less significant pests, although they do not belong to the group of migratory locusts. At the northern edge of the range, however, the species are rare and in some cases the subject of species protection measures.

distribution

Calliptamus species live in southern Europe, to southern central Europe, in North Africa north of the Sahara, in the Near and Middle East, and in Central and East Asia, east to China and Korea. A dubious nature is far away from the Congo stated, this was Ignacio Bolivar as Caloptenus cicatricosus described and has not regained; Daniel Otte assigns them to the genus Calliptamus on the basis of an indication (in the original with a question mark) in the catalog of Henry Bennett Johnston .

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Jean-Guillaume Audinet-Serville in 1831, the type species is Gryllus (Locusta) italicus L. In the current definition, it comprises 14 (or 15) recent species and one fossil species (on “Calliptamus” cicatricosus see under distribution. )

The genus, with some relatives, is classified in its own subfamily Calliptaminae. Other authors assigned them to the subfamily Catantopinae, which is regarded by some as an independent family (then called Catantopidae). A molecular study is only available for some Chinese species; it supports a monophyly of the genus.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ E. Blanchet, C. Pages, L. Blondin, C. Billot, R. Rivallan, JM Vassal, M. Lecoq, AM Risterucci: Isolation of microsatellite markers in the Calliptamus genus (Orthoptera, Acrididae). In: Journal of Insect Science. 10, 2010, p. 133.
  2. Jump up ↑ E. Blanchet, L. Blondin, PA Gagnaire, A. Foucart, JM Vassal, M. Lecoq: Multiplex PCR assay to discriminate four neighboring species of the Calliptamus genus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from France. In: Bulletin of Entomological Research. 100, 2010, pp. 701-706. doi : 10.1017 / S0007485310000052
  3. ^ Esther Larrosa, María-Dolores García, María Eulalia Clemente, Juan José Presa: Sound production in Calliptamus barbarus Costa 1836 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Catantopinae). In: Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. (ns) 44 (2), 2008, pp. 129-138.
  4. ↑ I. Ya. Grichanov: Calliptamus (= Caloptenus) italicus (L.) - Italian locust. Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Economic Plants and their Diseases, Weeds and Pests. 2003-2009. on-line
  5. ↑ Märk V. Stolyarov: mass reproductions of Calliptamus italicus L. in southern Russia in the twentieth century. In: Articulata. 15 (1), 2000, pp. 99-108.
  6. ↑ Hojun Song: Density-Dependent Phase Polyphenism in Nonmodel Locusts: A Minireview. In: Psyche. Volume 2011, Article ID 741769, doi : 10.1155 / 2011/741769
  7. ↑ Hrncic Snježana: Mass occurrence of Italian grasshopper (Calliptamus italicus L) in the vicinity of Podgorica. In: Biljni lekar. vol. 32, eat. 6, 2004, pp. 453-455. (Serbian, English summary).
  8. ↑ Ignacio Bolivar: Orthopteras de Africa del Museo de Lisboa (Continuation). In: Jornal des Scienias Matematicas, Physicas e Naturaes. Ser. 2, tom. 1, 1889, pp. 150-173. digitized online at BHL .
  9. ^ Henry Bennett Johnston: Annotated Catalog of African Grasshoppers. Cambridge University Press, 1956. Preview on Google Books
  10. ↑ a b Genus Calliptamus in the Orthoptera Species File online (Version 5.0 / 5.0)
  11. ↑ a b Jianhua Huang, Aibing Zhang, Shaoli Mao, Yuan Huang: DNA Barcoding and Species Boundary Delimitation of Selected Species of Chinese Acridoidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera). In: PLoS ONE. 8 (12), 2013, p. E82400. doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0082400
  12. ↑ Günter Köhler: Behavioral and life history aspects of Calliptamus plebeius (Walker, 1870), an endemic grasshopper of the Canary Islands (Orthoptera: Acrididae, Calliptaminae). In: Articulata. 25 (1), 2010, pp. 29-43.

swell

  • ND Iago: A revision of the genus Calliptamus Serville (Orthoptera: Acrididae). In: Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology. Vol. 13 No. 9, 1963, pp. 289-333.
  • VM Dirsh: A preliminary revision of the families and subfamilies of Acridoidea (Orthoptera, Insecta). In: Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology. Vol. 10 No. 9, 1961, pp. 351-422.

Web links

Commons : Calliptamus  - collection of images, videos and audio files