Dares ulula
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Dares ulula is a member of thegenus Dares, which belongs to the ghost horrors . The species isnative tothe northwest of the island of Borneo . The males are extremely prickly even for the representatives of this genus. Females are colored relatively rich in contrast.
features
The wingless animals have roughly the habitus typical of the genus . The species is one of the largest representatives of the genus Dares . Females grow to be 4.4 to 5.1 cm long. They are more contrasting than the females of other species. In addition to areas with different, mostly dark brown tones, there are also areas that are yellowish, orange-brown and black-brown in color. These areas can form wide transverse bands on the abdomen. The tubercles that are on the body surface are more distinct and higher in them than in many other species. Sometimes they are so pronounced that they form small, flap-like appendages ( praises ) or even short, blunt spines. The sensors consist of 25 segments. Their basal limbs (scapus) are flat and have distinct teeth on the outside. The abdomen is widest in the middle.
The males remain smaller than the females at 3.5 to 4.3 cm in length, but are also very contrasting in color. While the head and legs are medium brown, the color of the thorax and abdomen is dominated by dark brown and yellow to orange longitudinal stripes. The spines on the head and thorax correspond in their arrangement to that of Dares verrucosus , but are usually much longer than this. The males have four spines on their heads, and a total of three pairs of spines sit on the front edge of the mesonotum and in the rear area of the mesonotum and metanotum . To the side of it there is another sting on the pleurs . There are no spines on the abdomen. The antennae of the males consist of only 23 segments. Their basal members are also flat and have clear and relatively pointed teeth on the outside.
Occurrence and way of life
Dares ulula is widespread in the Malay state of Sarawak in the northwest of the island of Borneo. Many previously known sites were destroyed by urbanization and the creation of new plantations .
In their nocturnal way of life and their defensive behavior, this species hardly differs from other Dares species. The defense strategy is based on phytomimesis . When touched, the animals fall to the ground, where they remain in a state of fright . The females lay their eggs on the ground. The eggs are not quite spherical and almost hairless. They are approximately 4.7 mm long, 4.5 mm high and 3.9 mm wide. Your micropylar plate has four legs and the shape of an "X". The legs reach far around the egg (see also construction of the phasmid egg ). The nymphs are usually very dark in color and, with increasing age or stage of development, show conspicuously bright, mostly yellow-orange patterns around the resulting spines.
Taxonomy and systematics
John Obadiah Westwood described the species as Acanthoderus ulula in 1859 . The epithet chosen by him ulula means "owl". The female nymph on which his first scientific description is based was collected by D. Wallace in Sarawak. It is deposited as a holotype of the species in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History . In 1875, Carl Stål transferred the species as a second representative alongside Dares validispinus in the genus Dares which he had newly established . Josef Redtenbacher described two species in 1906, both of which were identified as synonyms for Dares ulula by Klaus Günther in 1935 . One of these synonyms is Dares calamita . The females to which the description referred were deposited in the Hungarian Natural Science Museum in Budapest , but are considered destroyed. The second synonym is Dares corticinus . Here Redtenbacher described a very young, male nymph, which is deposited as a holotype at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris .
Terrariums
The first living animals of this species came to Europe in 1991. Phil E. Bragg and Patrick van der Stigchel as well as Ian Abercrombie brought animals from Mount Serapi that year. Dares ulula was the third Dares species that entered European terrariums . Since then the species has been introduced several times. It is considered to be delicate to care for, but because of its appearance it is the most sought-after representative of the genus.
Like the other species of the genus, it prefers a higher level of humidity , which can be achieved by a layer of soil covered with moist moss . In addition to leaves of blackberries and many other rose plants , those of various birch plants are also eaten.
The Phasmid Study Group has Dares ulula under PSG number 117.
photos
Male left, female right
Couple in hiding
Eggs, left in dorsal view, right open and in lateral view
L1 nymph
supporting documents
- ^ A b c Philip E. Bragg : Phasmids of Borneo , Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, 2001, pp. 126-153, ISBN 983-812-027-8
- ↑ a b c Holger Dräger: Specters of the family Heteropterygidae Kirby , 1896 (Phasmatodea) - an overview of previously kept species, part 2: The subfamily Dataminae Rehn & Rehn , 1839 , ZAG Phoenix, No. 5 June 2012 Volume 3 (1) , Pp. 22-45, ISSN 2190-3476
- ^ A b Phasmatodea page by Oskar V. Conle and Frank H. Hennemann
- ^ John Obadiah Westwood : Catalog of the orthopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Phasmidae. London 1859. p. 53 & plate 26 fig. 1 ( online version )
- ↑ Josef Redtenbacher : The insect family of the phasmids. Vol. 1. Phasmidae Areolatae . Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1906, pp. 53–56 ( online version )
- ↑ Philip E. Bragg: A revision of the Heteropteryginae (Insecta: Phasmida: Bacillidae) of Borneo, with the description of a new genus and ten new species , Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden 316, 1998 pp. 60-64 & 115-122. - ISSN 0024-1652 / ISBN 90-73239-61-3 , online version
- ^ Paul D. Brock : Species File Online . Version 2.1 / 4.1. (accessed on November 18, 2012)
- ↑ Phasmid Study Group Culture List ( Memento from December 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English)
