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

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4682.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:430B98EF-BFCB-4608-A562-DEFA9539C8B2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5629469

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D8878E-FC69-D923-CCFE-56E5FC3E33EB

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Ruspolia differens (Serville, 1838)
status

 

Ruspolia differens (Serville, 1838) View in CoL

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

( Figs. 10 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 10 ).

R. differens View in CoL 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 View in CoL .

Bioacoustics. The song of R. differens View in CoL in the Ugandan population was described by Bailey (1976). Individuals in Gorongosa View in CoL 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 View FIGURE 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 GoogleMaps ; 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 GoogleMaps ; Wilson Laboratory, GNP, Chitengo , (-18.97775, 34.351333), 19.iii.–2.iv.2014, coll. P. Naskrecki & R. Guta— 1 female GoogleMaps ; same locality, 19–28.ii.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male ( EOWL) GoogleMaps ; GNP, Chitengo , elev. 29 m (-18.98194, 34.35122), 9.v.–29.vi.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 13 females, 5 males GoogleMaps , 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 GoogleMaps , 1 nymph female; GNP, Explore Gorongosa camp, elev. 23 m (-18.92092, 34.36575), 14.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female GoogleMaps ; GNP, intersection of Rts. 2 & 6, elev. 24 m (-18.94011, 34.44858), 15–20.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female GoogleMaps ; GNP, on Rd. 11, elev. 22 m (-19.00469, 34.41064), 4.vi.–25.vii.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 3 males GoogleMaps ; GNP, on Rt. 2, elev. 18 m (-18.95386, 34.42897), 20.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male GoogleMaps ; GNP, Picada 6, lion site, elev. 22 m (- 18.89636, 34.39956), 13.v.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 2 males ( MCZ) GoogleMaps .

MCZ

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Orthoptera

Family

Tettigoniidae

Genus

Ruspolia

Loc

Ruspolia differens (Serville, 1838)

Naskrecki, Piotr & Guta, Ricardo 2019
2019
Loc

Gorongosa

Naskrecki & Guta 2019
2019
Loc

Gorongosa

Naskrecki & Guta 2019
2019
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