Ruspolia differens (Serville, 1838)

Naskrecki, Piotr & Guta, Ricardo, 2019, Katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) of Gorongosa National Park and Central Mozambique, Zootaxa 4682 (1), pp. 1-119 : 25

Ruspolia differens (Serville, 1838)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:15304

( Figs. 10 E–H, 48A–C)

Diagnostic remarks. A highly polymorphic species ( Bailey 1975; Owen 1965; Robinson & Hartley 1978), distributed over most of sub-Saharan Africa. In the Gorongosa population all color forms described by Owen (1965) are present ( Figs. 10 F–H). It is a large Ruspolia , with the total body length of 52–60 mm, with long wings that extend beyond the hind knees and the tip of the ovipositor in females. The dorsal surface of the stridulatory vein is distinctly thickened in the middle and narrowed at both ends; the thick posterior vein of the mirror (A 1 + A 2) is evenly rounded; file with 112 teeth ( Fig. 10E ).

R. differens is well known for its swarming behavior in East Africa, especially in Uganda and Tanzania. In those areas where this species exhibits the swarming behavior it is consumed in large quantities by the local population, and is highly valued for its flavor and nutritional properties ( Bailey & McCrae 1978; Kevan & Knipper 1955; Matojo & Njau 2010). In Uganda the prize for fresh katydids is higher than that of beef ( Huis et al. 2013) and there are current efforts there to establish commercial captive breeding programs for this insect ( Rutaro et al. 2018). In Central Mozambique this species, known as gafanhoto voador or gafanhoto verde do arroz, is eaten locally but not on the same scale as in East Africa. There are no records of the swarming behavior of this species in Gorongosa .

Bioacoustics. The song of R. differens in the Ugandan population was described by Bailey (1976). Individuals in Gorongosa produce calls similar to those of the Ugandan population. They consist of long, uninterrupted trains of short syllables (mean syllable duration 0.00493 s, SD=0.000242; n=16) at the rate of 160 syllables/sec (at 21°C), with the frequency peak at 13.4–14.6. kHz. The call is relatively loud and readily audible to an average human ear ( Figs. 48 A–C).

Measurements (3 males, 4 females). body w/wings: male 52–57 (54.72.5), female 42.5–60 (54.17.9); body w/o wings: male 30–34 (31.72.1), female 29–73 (4220.8); pronotum: male 8–9 (8.3.6), female 8–9 (8.5.6); tegmen: male 44–46 (45.31.2), female 48–59 (51.35.3); hind femur: male 22–24 (23.31.2), female 24–29 (262.2); ovipositor: 20–27.5 (23.13.4) mm.

Material examined (35 specimens). Mozambique: Maputo, Maputo, Polana Serena Hotel , elev. 43 m (- 25.96917, 32.59872), 21.i.2014, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 1 male ; Sofala, Gorongosa Dist., Between Bunga camp and Vunduzi river , elev. 86 m (-18.60709, 34.34178), 24.iv.–5.v.2015, coll. R. Guta— 1 female ; Wilson Laboratory, GNP, Chitengo , (-18.97775, 34.351333), 19.iii.–2.iv.2014, coll. P. Naskrecki & R. Guta— 1 female ; same locality, 19–28.ii.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male ( EOWL) ; GNP, Chitengo , elev. 29 m (-18.98194, 34.35122), 9.v.–29.vi.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 13 females, 5 males , 2 nymph females, 1 nymph male; GNP, Dingue-Dingue (miombo region), elev. 159 m (-19.03186, 34.72556), 28.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female , 1 nymph female; GNP, Explore Gorongosa camp, elev. 23 m (-18.92092, 34.36575), 14.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female ; GNP, intersection of Rts. 2 & 6, elev. 24 m (-18.94011, 34.44858), 15–20.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female ; GNP, on Rd. 11, elev. 22 m (-19.00469, 34.41064), 4.vi.–25.vii.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 3 males ; GNP, on Rt. 2, elev. 18 m (-18.95386, 34.42897), 20.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male ; GNP, Picada 6, lion site, elev. 22 m (- 18.89636, 34.39956), 13.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 2 males ( MCZ) .

Figures

FIGURE 10. A. Holotype of Conocephalus annulicornis Walker, head an pronotum, lateral view; B. Lanista annulicornis from GNP, head an pronotum, lateral view; C. Holotype of Pseudorhynchus africanus Walker, head an pronotum, lateral view; D. Lanista africana from Asiakwa, Ghana, head an pronotum, lateral view; E. Ruspolia differens, stridulatory apparatus and file; F. ditto, male habitus, multicolored morph; G. ditto, female habitus, green morph; H. ditto, female habitus, brown morph.

FIGURE 48. Oscillograms and power spectra of Mozambican Tettigoniidae: A–C. Ruspolia differens; D–F. R. ampla; G–I. Anarytropteris chirinda; J–L. A. fallax.