Acrida turrita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Usmani, Mohammad Kamil, 2008, Studies on Acridoidea (Orthoptera) with some new records from Fezzan, Libya, Zootaxa 1946, pp. 1-41 : 24

24. Acrida turrita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Diagnosis: It can be easily identified by its conical head, very long, narrow hind femur and elongated body. It is likely to be confused with Truxalis sp. , the latter usually having a hindwing with a fine tessellated pattern which is lacking in Acrida .

Habitats: This species almost invariably lives in grassland, where the shape and colouring gives it protecton.

Material examined: Al Shati: Region: Brack , 1♂, 1♀, on egg-plant, 14.v.1993 ; Mansurah , 1♂, 2♀, on alfalfa, 27.iv.1993 ; Tarut , 1♂, on wild grass, 27.iv.1993 ; Zahra , 1♂, 1f, on grass, 27.v.1993 .

Localities: Cyrenaica: Barca, Bengasi, Derna, Fueihat; Tripolitania: Ain Zara, Bukamesh, Endschilla, Trip~li; Fezzan: Brack,. Mansurah, Tarot, Zahra.

Distribution: S. Rhodesia, N. Rhodesia, Angola, Belgian Congo, Tanganyika, Uganda, Gabon, Dahomey, Chad, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Niger Colony, Gold Coast, Guinea, Ivory Coast, French Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mouretania, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Somaliland, Eritrea, Nyasaland, Transvaal, Natal, Madagascar.

Remarks: This species was earlier recorded from Cyrenaica by Werner (1908 a) Ghigi (1913), Giglio-Tos (1923), Zanon (1924), Salfi (1929) and Jannone (1938) and from Tripolitania by Dirsh (1954).