Eppia, Stal, 1876

Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA: The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, : 93

EPPIA Stål, 1876

1876 Stål, Observ. Orth., Bihang Vet.-akad. 3:42.; type

species: Eppia truncatipennis Stål, 1876

Diagnosis

Body moderately robust, size medium to large; both sexes macropterous; tegmina characteristically truncated at apex ( Fig. 24 A); tegumen moderately rugose. Fastigium of vertex 1.5-2 times as wide as scapus, short and blunt, touching fastigium of frons; dorsum of pronotum rugose, with deep, transverse suture in prozona, and low longitudinal keel in metazona. All femora armed on lower margins with spines, mid tibia armed dorsally. Male cercus armed apically with 2 incurved spines; lower spine movable; ovipositor short, upcurved, somewhat dilated midlength. Coloration grayish-brown, face with large black patch.

Description (male except where specified)

Head.— Fastigium of vertex 1.5-2 times as wide as scapus, blunt and as long as diameter of eye ( Fig. 24 B); fastigium of vertex touching fastigium of frons. Eyes small relative to size of head, weakly protruding. Frons flat, smooth; tegumen of genae rugose, but with no traces of genal carinae; face moderately broad. Mandibles and clypeus symmetrical.

Thorax and wings.— Dorsal surface of pronotum rugose, metazona slightly raised; prozona with deep transverse suture, metazona with more or less developed longitudinal keel; both anterior and posterior dorsal margins convex ( Fig. 24 C); lateral lobes with posterior angle narrowly rounded; humeral sinus well developed. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, elliptical, completely hidden under lateral lobe of pronotum; posterior edge of spiracle with small, finger-like projection. Prosternum armed with two thin, widely separated spines (modified basisternum); mesosternum with lateral lobes of basisterna triangular, their inner margins touching only at base; metasternal lobes touching along 2/3 of their inner edge.

Wings in both sexes either fully developed, well surpassing apices of hind femora ; apices of tegmina characteristically truncated and emarginated ( Fig. 24 A). Stridulatory apparatus of male well developed; stridulatory area of left wing thickened, with dense network of secondary veinlets; stridulatory file (vein AA 1) weakly curved; teeth of file wide, lamelliform, becoming thicker and narrower towards proximal end of file ( Fig. 48 E); mirror of right wing somewhat longer than wide, its distal margin convex, other margins straight. Posterior margin of tegmen weakly concave.

Legs.— Fore coxa with an elongate, forward projecting spine dorsally; mid coxa with small, hook-like spine on upper margin. Fore and mid femora unarmed dorsally but armed ventrally on anterior margins; genicular lobes of fore femora unarmed, lobes of mid and hind femora armed with short spines, often only inner genicular lobes armed on mid femora . Fore tibia unarmed dorsally but mid tibia with 1-2 prominent dorsal spines, ventral margins of both fore and mid tibiae with immovable spines as long as 1/4 to 1/2 diameter of tibia; hind tibia armed on all four dorsal and ventral margins; apex of tibia with two pairs of ventral and one pair of dorsal movable spurs. Tympanum on fore tibia bilaterally closed, tympanal slits facing forward, tympanal area only weakly swollen, with pair of small, elongated pits below tympanal slits; outer (posterior) flap of tympanum often with lower edge free.

Abdomen.— Dorsal surface of abdominal terga smooth, unmodified. Male 10th tergite with nearly rectangular apical emargination, supraanal plate small, triangular. Male cercus with 2 apical spines, both bent inwards; upper spine about half as long as lower spine; lower spine movable, articulated ( Fig. 24 D); female cercus, simple, slender and weakly incurved. Subgenital plate of male with a pair of styli and small, triangular apical emargination; female subgenital plate wider than long, with deep, semicircular apical emargination.

Male concealed genitalia with part of phallic membrane strongly sclerotized and covered by chitinous callosities but without separate titillators ( Fig. 24 E). Ovipositor about as long as half of hind femur, distinctly upcurved; upper valvula about 4 times as wide as lower one, somewhat expanded midlength; apex of ovipositor pointed.

Coloration.— General coloration grayish-brown, with numerous, irregular lighter and darker patches. Sometimes head, pronotum, and legs with small green patches. Frons, upper portion of clypeus, and mandibles black; frons often with tiny, white, widely scattered dots; lower part of clypeus and labrum reddish-brown to orange. Ventral side of abdomen black.

Remarks.— This monotypic genus is widely distributed from Chiapas Province in Mexico, through Guatemala, Costa Rica ( Map 13 ), and Panama, to Colombia and Guayas Province in Ecuador. Nothing is known about its biology.

Although Eppia has traditionally been assigned to Agraeciini , there is hardly any indication of its relatedness to Agraecia and related genera. The structure of the male cercus, the auditory spiracle, and the fastigium of vertex indicate affinity to such genera as Bucrates or Pyrgocorypha .

Figures

FIG. 24. Eppia truncatipennis. A. female - habitus, B. female face, C. female head and pronotum, dorsal view, D. titillators, everted, E. male cerci, dorsal view.

FIG. 48. Stridulatory files of Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Sphyrometopa femorata, C. Sphyrometopa atlantica, C. ditto, enlarged fragment, D. Eppia truncatipennis, enlarged fragment, E. ditto, entire file, F. Caulopsis cuspidata, entire file, G. ditto, enlarged fragment, H. Caulopsis microprora, enlarged fragment, I. ditto, entire file.

MAPS 13 - 18. Distribution of species of Conocephalinae s. l. in Costa Rica. 13. Sphyrometopa femorata, S. atlantica, Eppia truncatipennis, 14. Erioloides longipennis, E. macrocephalus, E. longinoi, E. brevipennis, 15. Erioloides, consobrinus, E. acutidentis, E. latiscobinus, E. sikesi, 16. Eriolus aculeus, E. acutipennis, E. duplidentis, E. penicillus, 17. Subria sylvestris, S. crassicerca, S. scutellaris, 18. Podacanthophorus alas, P. nelciae, P. vargasi, P. maylinae.