Leptophyes punctatissima (Bosc, 1792)

Ivković, Slobodan, Horvat, Laslo & Vujić, Mihailo, 2024, Rediscovery of the Common Speckled Bush-cricket, Leptophyes punctatissima (Bosc, 1792) (Orthoptera: Phaneropteridae) in Serbia, Zootaxa 5501 (3), pp. 488-492 : 489-491

Leptophyes punctatissima (Bosc, 1792)

Based on the literature and our own data ( Fig. 1E ), we can assume that L. punctatissima inhabits bushes and lower vegetation on forest edges and clearings, with adults appearing similar to other members of the genus, between July and October.

During the ongoing survey on Rujan Mountain (N 42.357888°, E 21.814671°; Fig. 1D ), in southeastern Serbia, MV found one female Leptophyes specimen ( Figures 2A, 2B ) sitting on the leaves of Juniperus oxycedrus L. After a detailed analysis of the characters presented in the photo, it is established that the female specimen belongs to L. punctatissima . The habitat is distinctly xerothermic, consists mainly of rocks and sharp silicate pebbles covered with sparse vegetation and sporadic smaller trees and shrubs of Juniperus oxycedrus L., Quercus spp. , and Rosa sp. ( Figure 2C ). The meadow where the specimen was collected is interspersed with ravines of ephemeral streams, characterized by a denser vegetation cover of Carpinus orientalis Mill. , Fraxinus ornus L. and Cornus mas L. This locality is under pronounced Mediterranean climatic influence, which also reflects in the diversity of insects. The specimen was found co-occurring with numerous other thermophilic representatives, such as Acrida ungarica (Herbst, 1786) , Tylopsis liliifolia (Fabricius, 1793) , Bradyporus dasypus (Illiger, 1800) , Ameles heldreichi Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882 and Empusa fasciata Brulle, 1832 .

Although the locality is situated near the road connecting Pčinja Valley and Preševo basin, it is isolated due to low traffic intensity. Almost the entire area of Rujan Mt. is xerothermic, consisting of dry meadows and pastures, shrublands, forests of Austrian pine ( Pinus nigra subsp. nigra ), oaks ( Quercus spp. ), or Oriental hornbeam ( Carpinus orientalis Mill. ), making them very prone to wildfires. Practically after every visit to localities there, during the summer and autumn, large areas under recent fires are observed, making it a potential threat to biodiversity there.

The rediscovery of L. punctatissima raises questions about the origin of this species in Serbia. It is known that females of this species lay eggs in the cracks in trees or bushes, resulting in easy spread from Western Europe via international trade with plants ( Gomboc & Šegula 2008). The locality where the species was found is isolated, and the possibility that it is brought by international trade is minimal, thus further research on the occurrence of L. punctatissima in Serbia is necessary.

During more than a decade of Orthoptera investigation in Serbia, we have reported almost all Orthoptera species previously mentioned in the literature. Although, throughout the literature, we can consider that the eastern part of Serbia is the most investigated part, considering the Orthoptera fauna, we have reported numerous new species and interesting distributional records from this region, showing that, even after so many decades of research, there is still a need for more comprehensive research. Up to this time, we have not succeeded in finding six taxa mentioned for Serbia — Bradyporus macrogaster longicollis (Fieber, 1853) , Polysarcus scutatus (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882) , Celes variabilis (Pallas, 1771) , Paracinema tricolor bisignatum (Charpentier, 1825) , Tetrix tuerki (Krauss, 1876) and Chorthippus loratus (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846) . We expect that the majority of these species are still present in the country, and proving their presence will be the focus of our field research in the future. Besides our own research, we must emphasize the contribution provided by various citizen-science platforms, such as those based on local fauna (Alciphron [https://alciphron.habiprot. org.rs/] and Biologer [biologer.org]) and those used worldwide (iNaturalist [inaturalist.org] and Observado [observation. org]), which have already provided numerous new distributional data on rare Orthoptera species in Serbia.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution maps of Leptophyes species in Serbia (the red square represents the locality where L. punctatissima was recently found). A) L. albovittata (Kollar, 1833); B) L. boscii Fieber, 1853; C) L. discoidalis (Frivaldszky, 1868); D) L. laticauda (Frivaldszky, 1868); E) L. punctatissima (Bosc, 1792).

FIGURE 2. A) Dorsal view of female Leptophyes punctatissima; Lateral view of female L. punctatissima; C) Habitat on Rujan Mt. where L. punctatissima was found.