Gryllus locorojo Weissman and Gray

Weissman, David B., Gray, David A., Pham, Hanh Thi & Tijssen, Peter, 2012, Billions and billions sold: Pet-feeder crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), commercial cricket farms, an epizootic densovirus, and government regulations make for a potential disaster, Zootaxa 3504, pp. 67-88 : 74

Gryllus locorojo Weissman and Gray n. sp.

( Figs. 4 a, b, c, d, 5a, b, Table 1).

Recognition characters. Known only from pet food stores and commercial cricket growers in the USA, Europe, and Russia. Body length medium-large, long or short winged, typically reddish/brownish colored head ( Fig. 4 a) with three or four longitudinal stripes visible even in specimens with darker heads. Cerci short (see Table 1). Pronotum dull or shiny. Song ( Fig. 5 a, b) variable, usually two pulses/chirp (range 1–3), usually less than one chirp/sec but some males sing at 2–3 chirps/sec. Pulse rate 25–42 at 25°C. Song different from any known USA, Mexican, or Central American Gryllus spp. (Weissman & Gray, in prep.). Most similar Gryllus song is G. argentinus Saussure ( Martins & Zefa 2011) from Brazil and Argentina but chirp rate higher and pulse rate lower in latter taxon (see Table 1 for comparison; also Shestakov & Vedenina [2012]). Also differs in color pattern ( G. argentinus has a solid black head and pronotum) and DNA (see Fig. 6 ). In USA and Mexico, most similar cricket song is from the non-native Acheta domesticus .

Holotype. Male: USA: California, Los Angeles Co., Compton, Rainbow Mealworms, 126 E Spruce St., 90220. December, 2011. DBW S(top)11–124. R(ecording) 12–1,5. DNA sample G2219; 16s ribosomal RNA gene GenBank accession # JX269046 . Type deposited in California Academy of Sciences ( CAS), Entomology Type # 18657.

Paratypes. (Total: 503 22Ƥ). Bassett’s Cricket Ranch, DBW S11–109, Visalia, California, x-2011, 63; Ghann’s Cricket Farm, S11–117, Augusta, Georgia, xi-2011, 93, 4Ƥ; American Cricket Ranch, S11–122, Lakeside, California, ii-2011, 63, 8Ƥ; Rainbow Mealworms, S11-124, Compton, California, xii-2011, 33 6Ƥ; Tobias Valentin, S12-2, Copenhagen, Denmark, xii-2011, 53, 4Ƥ; Monkfield Nutrition Ltd., S12-15, Herts, England, v-2012, 213. All paratypes deposited in CAS.

Description. See Table 1 for measurements. Genitalia ( Fig. 4 b, c) typical of Gryllus with male epiphallus three lobed with a longer, slender median lobe. Tegmen with 4–5 harp veins ( Fig. 4 d).

Etymology. Given the common name moniker “crazy red” in early discussions by Clay Ghann, herein formalized as its scientific name.

Remarks. Biology unknown. No apparent diapause when raised under commercial conditions of 28°C, 40% relative humidity, and an 11 hour light/13 hour dark cycle. In Europe this previously unrecognized cricket has long been known as “ G. assimilis ” or the “brown silent cricket.” In Denmark, it is called the “Steppe cricket” (T. Valentin pers. comm. to DBW, January, 2012). In Russia, it is called the “banana cricket” ( Shestakov & Vedenina 2012). Its DNA ( Fig. 6 ) and song are very different from true G. assimilis (see above).

According to Varvara Vedenina, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (pers. comm. to DBW, January, 2012): “The cricket culture under the name “ Gryllus assimilis ” came to the Moscow Zoo from the Berlin Zoo in the beginning of the 1990s. No details are known. A bit later, in 1997, the cricket eggs under the name “ Gryllus argentinus ” came from Paris Museum of Natural History to St. Petersburg. These eggs definitely originated from Ecuador, since French colleagues returned from an expedition there. Both cultures appear to be identical.” Unfortunately, Dr. Vedenina was unable to get more information from the Paris Museum of Natural History about the origin of their eggs.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Gryllus locorojo a. Adult male from Ghann’s Cricket Farm showing characteristic head stripes. Adult male genitalia consistent with Gryllus: b. lateral view (arrow points to middle lobe) and c. ventral view (arrow points to middle lobe). d. Right adult male tegmen.

FIGURE 5. Oscillograms (a, b) and sonogram (b) of the calling song of G. locorojo. a (upper). Male from S (top) 11 – 124, Rainbow Meal Worms, R (ecording) 12 – 4 @ 23 ° C showing only pairs which are sometimes grouped. B (lower). Male from S 12 – 15, Monkfield Nutrition, R 12 – 19 at 24 ° C, showing a triplet, doublet, and singlet pulse chirps with a dominant frequency of 5. 4 kHz (Interestingly, dominant frequency is 4. 2 kHz in Shestakov & Vedenina 2012).

FIGURE 6. Fast distance based analysis tree for 16 s ribosomal RNA gene. Note total genetic uniformity among 28 individuals of G. locorojo from eight “ localities ” on three continents. See Appendix A for specimen source data.