ISSN 2372-2517 (Online), ISSN 2372-2479 (Print) METALEPTEAMETALEPTEA THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ORTHOPTERISTS’ SOCIETY

TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Message (Clicking on an article’s title will take you By DAVID HUNTER to the desired page) President [1] PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE [email protected] [2] SOCIETY NEWS ear Society Members, [2] 14th Congress delayed due to COVID-19 by D. HUNTER [2] Call for OSF Grant Applications by M.M. A very happy New Year CIGLIANO to everyone! [3] Current Status of the Journal of Orthop- tera Research by T. ROBILLARD & C. BAZELET [4] The Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund: Without doubt, 2020 was A new call for applications for 2021 by M. D LECOQ D a very challenging year. Limitations on our activities have [5] REGIONAL REPORTS [5] North, Sahelian & West Africa by A. meant we have had to adapt to a very IDRISSI different environment for both work [5] T.J. COHN GRANT REPORTS and leisure. COVID-19 has affected [5] The kool katydid: acoustic response of all of us and, as has occurred with so a South African-endemic bush cricket, Thoracistus thyraeus, to a transformed many other international meetings, landscape by A. VAN DER MESCHT has led the Board to decide to delay [8] Oh, you shouldn’t have: investigating the role of nuptial gift proteins in decorated our next Congress (see next article). cricket sexual conflict by I. RINES Let’s hope for a better 2021 and a [10] Integrative taxonomic revision of the tribe Bryodemini Bey-Bienko, 1930 gradual return to normal - whatever (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) by L. the “new normal” turns out to be and DEY & M. HUSEMANN [12] Egg morphology among the genus however long it takes. been a full recovery in recent months. Pseudosermyle Caudell, 1903 (Phasmato- A special thanks to both Corey Ba- This puts us in a good position to dea) by U. LÓPEZ-MORA & A.C. MAR- TÍNEZ-CERVANTES zelet and Tony Robillard for a smooth fund the upcoming Theodore J. Cohn transition of the editorship of our Research Fund projects and our many [15] OSF GRANT REPORTS [15] Oecanthines of high interest in the Journal. After an overlapping period other endeavours that support you as United States by N. COLLINS with Corey, Tony has now taken over members of our society while increas- [17] CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES as Editor of our Journal of Orthop- ing the profile of Orthoptera and re- [17] Field observations on the feeding habits lated groups. of the European Schmidt’s marbled bush tera Research. Corey’s tireless efforts cricket by C. PAGE over the past five years have brought The many reports in the current is- [18] Interview with Futaro Okuyama by R. MARIÑO-PÉREZ our journal to open access through sue of Metaleptea demonstrate the [20] Commission for Controlling the Desert Pensoft which means a substantially continuing success of the work of our Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) increased readership of our journal. members: it is with great pleasure that - A Success Story by M. L. HAMOUNY Remember that as members of our I present another excellent Metalep- [21] MEETING REPORTS [21] Proceedings of the 2020 ESA Sympo- society, you can publish your work in tea, thanks once again to the tireless sium: “Small Orders, Big Ideas (Polyneop- the journal free of charge (except for efforts of Hojun Song and Derek tera)” by D.A. WOLLER ET AL. coloured images), so send your ar- Woller! [26] TREASURER’S REPORT ticles to Tony, our new Editor! [27] EDITORIAL I draw your attention to the Report by our Treasurer, Pamm Mihm: even though the many economic uncertain- ties led to a decline in the Society’s investments early this year, there has

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 1 METALEPTEA 14th Congress delayed due to COVID-19 By DAVID HUNTER President [email protected] ith a great deal of ICE years by having our Congress ev- will most likely be much higher than reluctance, the Or- ery three years instead of four. Conse- normal in the immediate future. In ad- thopterists’ Society quently, ICE moving to the same year dition, COVID-19 has placed severe Board has decided as our Congress, combined with the limitations on the organisation of ICO to delay our 14th In- uncertainties of the ongoing SARS- in Paris, including organisers being W ternational Congress CoV-2 pandemic, led the Board to unable to get definite commitments ofW Orthopterology (ICO) that was decide to delay the Congress until as to availability of venues, making planned for 2022. 2023. We hope this delay is sufficient congress organisation nearly impos- Similar delays have been made for because who knows when things will sible. Consequently, we are looking at other congresses, including, most im- be back to normal. the option of a smaller city venue, as portantly, the International Congress SARS-CoV-2 has placed substan- we often have had in the past, which of Entomology (ICE) in Finland, tial difficulties on any international is likely to be much safer and easier to which was originally scheduled for meeting. The substantial health issues organise in the current situation: the July 2020, then postponed until 2021, caused by the associated disease, CO- Yucatán of Mexico had been offered and now postponed again until 2022. VID-19, especially for older mem- as a potential venue for our 2025 con- This means that our 14th ICO, origi- bers, mean that holding international gress, and organisers of that venue nally scheduled for late 2022 would meetings will be extremely difficult have indicated that it could be brought be only a few months after ICE, and until there is a dramatic decline in the forward. Regardless, the delay will the last time this happened, in 2016 number of cases. Vaccinations will allow us to look carefully at what oth- with the 12th ICO in Brazil, it was be important, but there are still many ers have had to do in organising their clear that some of our members were uncertainties as to how effective they congresses, allowing us to have as unable to find funds for both ICE and will actually be in reducing cases and near normal a congress as possible. our event, so we had fewer people at how long such reductions will take. In this time of pandemic uncertainty, the Brazil ICO than expected. The And because international air travel is please stay tuned for updates on the Board then made the decision to avoid much reduced currently, travel costs timing and location of the next ICO! Call for OSF Grant Applications By MARIA MARTA CIGLIANO Museo de La Plata, División Entomología, FCNyM-UNLP CEPAVE, CONICET-CCT La Plata, ARGENTINA [email protected] he Orthopterists’ Society, men records. Any proposal that solely • Significance (highlighting the in cooperation with the focuses on fieldwork or other system- new data that will be added to Illinois Natural History atic research without direct benefits to OSF, preferably to taxa currently Survey, provides funding OSF will not be considered. Projects lacking images, sound record- for work in support of the may be proposed for periods of one to ings, distribution records, etc.) TT Orthoptera Species File. three years. • Objectives, methods and activi- Members of the Orthopterists’ Soci- Due to the Covid-19 situation, ties ety are invited to apply. Applications there has been a reduction in the • Timetable should be sent to María Marta Ciglia- funds available for grants. For 2021, 2. If applicable, provide summary of no ([email protected]). $20,000 USD will be available. All the research project related to the Grants are available for a project as the requested information must be proposal defined by the applicant. The project submitted by February 28, 2021 to re- 3. Curriculum vitae must involve benefit to the Orthoptera ceive full consideration. The commit- 4. Budget (including justification Species File. The usual benefit is the tee will complete its assessment and of trips to museums, fieldwork, addition of images (photographs of announce the results in March, 2021. equipment, etc.) the habitus and diagnostic details of 5. If applicable, provide letter of type specimens, other reliably identi- The proposals should include: agreement/acknowledgement to fied museum specimens, living indi- 1. Project description (not more than work with the collection from the viduals in natural habitats), sound re- five pages): corresponding institution/curator cordings, and/or geo-referenced speci- • Title including permission to add the

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 2 METALEPTEA images to OSF. on the “biogeographical value,” i.e., port of a qualified student to do this surveys in undercollected areas will under their supervision will also be Proposals from graduate students be preferred over similar activities considered. should include a simple recommenda- in well-worked terrain. Preference tion from their professor or advisor. will be also given to applicants who Important: A short financial and Preference will be given in relation demonstrate knowledge of the taxa in- tasks report will be required from to the amount of data added into OSF, volved. The methods, e.g., techniques each grantee once the funding period i.e., the expected contribution to the for capturing images, will be likewise is finished. The report should be in considered taxa (dependent on already considered in the evaluation. Also, a format suitable for publication in existing data). A detailed list of the priority will be given to applicants Metaleptea. species that are poorly illustrated in planning to document and photograph If the candidate has received an OSF and the data that is expected to the types of Orthoptera species not OSF grant in a previous year, the be added as a result of the grant is yet documented by images in OSF, tasks from the previous grant have to highly recommended to be included or who are planning to document the be finished and the report approved by in the proposal. Proposals involving types from museums or other collec- the OSF Committee before applying images and sound recordings taken tions not easily accessible to research- for a new grant. in the field will be funded depending ers. Applications of curators for sup- Current Status of the Journal of Orthoptera Research By TONY ROBILLARD1 & COREY BAZELET2 1Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, FRANCE [email protected] 2USDA-APHIS PlantEpidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory (PERAL), Raleigh, NC, USA [email protected] ear orthopterist col- citations of the articles and has given To end this transition period, Corey leagues, us more visibility outside of our com- and I would like to share with you munity. Although we were expecting some interesting reports from Pen- As announced in a to receive the outcome of the Impact soft about JOR’s stats over the past 2 previous issue of Meta- Factor evaluation during 2020, unex- years. Of particular interest: DDleptea (Volume 40(2)), pected delays at Clarivate Analytics as of January 2021, I, Tony, am the have delayed this process, so we con- ● The journal receives about 22,000 new Managing Editor of the Journal tinue to wait. views on average per quarter. This of Orthoptera Research (JOR). After a short period of transition, during which Corey taught me the processes involved in being the JOR editor, I am now fully in charge. First of all, I want to thank the Orthopterists’ Soci- ety for giving me this opportunity, and then Corey and the rest of the edito- rial team for the excellent work done to place the journal on the ascending slope it has recently taken. This is due to their continued efforts, to the sup- port of the Orthopterists’ Society, and to you, the authors, who entrust your manuscripts to JOR. As a reminder, JOR is now complete open access on the Pensoft platform and articles are free of article process- ing charge for society members. This has led to a significant increase in Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 3 METALEPTEA seems to have been higher during 2020 than it was in 2019, which may indicate that the move to Pensoft and open access was ben- eficial for journal accessibility to readers, as we had hoped. ● The journal seems to receive about 7 new submissions per quarter. This is good but should be ameliorated. ● In 2020, it took about 2 months from manuscript submission to acceptance - down from 3 months in 2019.

Overall it shows that JOR is a sta- ble, healthy, and dynamic journal, but that we also still need to receive more (good) submissions from the com- munity. As an editor, I will do my best to continue on the same path in order to publish the best quality papers out of our research on these fascinating insects.

The Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund: A new call for applications for 2021 (Application Deadline: March 31, 2021) By MICHEL LECOQ Chair, Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund Committee [email protected]

his research grant is year is available and it is possible to awards/the-theodore-j-cohn-research- primarily to fund research fund research grants for up to $1,500 fund/ projects in Orthoptera per grantee. As usual, proposals should be sub- (sensu lato) by young Full detailed information can be mitted at the following address: researchers often as part found on the Orthopterists’ Society Michel Lecoq, Manager, The Ted TT of a Master’s or Ph.D., website, on the “Grants & Awards” Cohn Research Fund though Postdoctorates may also be page: e-mail: [email protected] funded. A total amount of $15K per http://orthsoc.org/resources/grants- Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 4 METALEPTEA Regional Reports - What’s happening around the world? General Thesis Abstract North, Sahelian, & Despite the many improvements in the preventive control system; the use of new tech- niques and technologies (GPS, elocust, remote sensing etc.) allowing the management of West Africa locust crises, upsurges and invasions through resurgences continue to threaten the liveli- By AMINA IDRISSI hoods of more than 1.5 billion people. Universite IBN ZOHR The work of this thesis aims to study, map and characterize the biotopes of the breeding Agadir, MOROCCO and gregarization areas of the desert locust in its environment in Chad. We evaluated the [email protected] spatial distribution of the desert locust and the factors (biological or geomorphological) egarding the news from which are likely to influence the ecological potential of the desert locust and constitute a Agadir in Morocco, risk of gregarization. First, we studied and mapped desert locust distribution in Chad based on 7,014 reports of Mathias Kayalto defend- survey teams for a period of more than 38 years. A spatial smoothing method calculating ed his PhD thesis on Sep- the density of observations has identified three geographic areas (Kanem/Lake Chad, Batha, tember 19, 2020 concern- and Ennedi) which are added to the Tibesti area (old) as new breeding and gregarization RR ing the delimitation and areas. characterization of the biotopes of the Second, we proceeded to the floristic characterization of the reproduction and gregariza- desert locust breeding and gregariza- tion biotopes on the basis of 186 floristic surveys including 112 plant species. The opera- tional objective of this study was to improve knowledge of the nature and distribution of tion areas in Chad (see abstract be- vegetation in the breeding and gregarization areas of the desert locust. Multivariate -sta low). This thesis was funded by the tistical methods were applied: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hill & Smith Analysis, CLCPRO and supervised by Dr. Cyril and Co-inertia. The results of these analyzes have highlighted five groups of plant species Piou (CBGP Cirad Montpellier) and of importance for the desert locust. These species groups can help in identifying favorable Pr. Mina Idrissi Hassani (IBN ZOHR habitats during surveys. Third, we evaluated whether the geomorphological variables of the terrain could be re- Agadir University). Due to difficul- lated to the risks of desert locust gregarization. A total of 128 sites corresponding to 1,555 ties in traveling these days, it was sampled points were analyzed. The results revealed that two geomorphological variables presented with part of the jury being (soil texture and facies) significantly influence the gregarogenic range of the desert locust. online, including Dr. Piou, Dr. Lecoq, This thesis, which is the first of its kind in Chad and the western region of Africa, is of capital and Dr. Lemine of the CLCPRO. The importance for the preventive management of upsurges and invasions. The results can be nominee received the highest honor used by surveyors to easily identify plant species of major importance whose presence in the environment is an indicator of the probability of observing the desert locust. The re- and congratulations from the jury. sults also highlight the variability of geomorphological and granulometric indicators within a Regarding the locust situation in gregarogenic site. The ambition of all this data and these findings is to improve the strategy Morocco, according to the National of preventive control. Locust Control Center, no threat of an Keywords: floristic and geomorphological characterization, cartography, biotopes, grega- invasion has been reported. rogenous areas, desert locust, spatial smoothing, PCA, Hill & Smith, Co-inertia, Logistic re- gression. Theodore J. Cohn Research Grant Reports The kool katydid: acoustic response of a South African-endemic bush cricket, Thoracistus thyraeus, to a transformed landscape By AILEEN VAN DER MESCHT Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology Stellenbosch University, SOUTH AFRICA [email protected] ush crickets, or katydids, production of species-specific songs, Both biotic and abiotic factors can (Orthoptera: Tettigoni- while also stimulating curious humans alter the calls of bush crickets. Acous- idae) are the most speci- to tune into the fascinating world of tic competition between species can ose orthopteran family bush cricket sound transmission. cause one species to alter its calls as a and, for many an Orthop- Species-specific calls are essential direct result of interspecific competi- BB tera enthusiast, are argu- for mate attraction in bush crickets. tion. When calling in close proximity ably the most charismatic orthopteran But if the calls are interrupted or al- to one another, calls of the European group. Like most Orthoptera, male tered in any way, female bush crickets bush cricket, Platycleis intermedia, bush crickets have a lot to say through are unable to locate potential mates. are either completely inhibited by Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 5 METALEPTEA calls of P. affinis and P. falx, or P. intermedia is forced to produce cor- rupted chirps following acoustic inhi- bition [1]. Physical barriers within the land- scape also interact with and attenuate songs as they are propagated across the landscape [2]. Higher frequencies more-so than lower frequencies, so, as well as competing with each other, bush crickets have to overcome bar- riers to communication within the landscape itself. Tettigonia viridissima has been used to illustrate the trad- eoffs between call propagation and an individual’s predation risk. When calling from atop vegetation (>1 m), calls travel farther, potentially reach- ing more females, yet the individual is Figure 1. Thoracistus thyraeus (Photograph property of Dr. Claudia Hemp and used with permis- more exposed, so the greater the like- sion) lihood of it becoming someone else’s work in KwaZulu-Natal, I found the pled sites, and it occurred in all the supper increases. To avoid predators, species to be widely distributed in a sampled biotopes, both natural and males may call from inside clumps of transformed landscape mosaic con- transformed. Thoracistus thyraeus is vegetation, but here calls are highly sisting of natural grasslands, indig- the most widely distributed species in attenuated and instead of carrying enous forests, and exotic Eucalyptus the landscape, as no other species was tens of meters the calls propagate over plantations (Figures 2 and 3). Since found in all seven biotopes. only a few meters, reaching fewer po- plantation forestry was highlighted as The natural forest-grassland ecotone tential mates [3]. a threat to T. thyraeus, I became in- appears to be the firm favorite for the South Africa is a mega-diverse terested in trying to determine where species (Figure 4), as the total call country and home to three global bio- exactly in this landscape T. thyraeus time of T. thyraeus in this biotope is diversity hotspots. The country has a could be found and how it, and other significantly higher here than in any diverse array of bush cricket species, bush cricket species, are able to main- other sampled biotope. As the natural two thirds of which are thought to be tain effective communication in this ecotones are characterized by increas- national endemics [4], largely associ- transformed landscape mosaic. To do ing woody vegetation, as one moves ated with these biodiversity hotspots this, over the course of three months, from the grasslands to the indigenous [5]. All members of the genus Tho- I recorded the nocturnal bush cricket forest, this increasing habitat com- racistus are endemic to South Africa, soundscape at sixty sites distributed plexity likely provides a wide variety occurring in grasslands and some across a variety of biotope types – in- of resources for T. thyraeus, allowing disturbed habitats. Thoracistus thy- digenous forests, grasslands, mature for a higher number of individuals to raeus (Figure 1), the inflated seedpod and young Eucalyptus plantations, cohabit in this natural ecotone. With shieldback (affectionately known as and the ecotones between them. more individuals, more males will be the kool katydid) is the most charis- Five-minute recordings were made at calling, resulting in the higher call matic of all and a distinctive member 19h00, 21h00, 23h00, 01h00, 03h00 times observed. Since I recorded T. of this genus. The pronotum forms a and 05h00 for four consecutive nights thyraeus in the Eucalyptus planta- large extension that covers its abdo- at every site. tions, and past observations of the men and aids in the amplification of From these recordings, 11 bush species have shown it to prefer weedy its characteristic call [6]. cricket species were identified, which roadside verges, this species is likely Historically, T. thyraeus was known was surprisingly low, as the study not a habitat specialist, but rather a from only three localities and thought site was located in the Maputaland- generalist species that responds to the to be restricted to grasslands and Pondoland-Albany hotspot. Even so, amount of woody vegetation present, pasturelands. Beyond this, not much I recorded almost 90,000 bush cricket and not to plant species composition. is known about the species or what calls and choruses, making the night As singing populations of T. thyraeus drives its distribution in a landscape. air full of song. I found T. thyraeus to are well-maintained across this trans- The species is currently red-listed be present at 41 out of the sixty sam- formed landscape, it is likely that its as Endangered [7], but during field- Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 6 METALEPTEA

Figure 2. A view of the sampled landscape showing a patch of indigenous Figure 3. An additional view of the landscape showing conserva- forest in the foreground and exotic Eucalyptus plantations and indigenous tion corridors composed of remnant grasslands among Eucalyptus grasslands in the distance. plantations. current Red List assessment [7] is thyraeus. Surprisingly, there appears plays a role in limiting the competi- overly cautious. to be no direct acoustic competition tion between the bush crickets identi- Of the 11 bush crickets identified in between these species and T. thyraeus, fied in this landscape. I found some the landscape, I found T. thyraeus to as the species’ calls all have differ- species to prefer the more open habi- sympatric with eight of the 11identi- ent central frequencies, allowing for tats, such as grasslands (T. viridifer), fied species. Of these eight species, I simultaneous calling with T. thyraeus, while others preferred the woodier selected the four most abundant spe- without any species’ calls interfer- environments (Plangia sp.1 and cies after T. thyraeus in the landscape ing or masking each other (Figure Conocephalus sp.1). By existing in when they were present at more than 5). Each species appears to occupy a separate biotopes, the species are sel- 8 sites. These species belonged to distinct acoustic niche [8]. Although dom in direct contact, or in acoustic Plangia, Ruspolia, and Conocepha- the Conocephalus and Plangia spe- competition, with each other. lus, as well as another member of the cies here were found to occupy the It is remarkable that the bush cricket Thoracistus genus, T. viridifer. I com- same central frequency band, their assemblage is able to maintain acous- pared the central frequencies of the call structure differed significantly, tic integrity in this transformed land- calls and the presence of these species allowing Plangia to produce its short scape. The natural areas within this to those of T. thyraeus to determine chirps in-between the long choruses landscape are invaluable for the con- whether inter-specific competition of Conocephalus. servation of the natural bush cricket exists between these species and T. Species biotope preference also assemblage, yet the bush cricket as- semblage, and especially T. thyraeus, are resilient enough to persist within this human-modified landscape. Thoracistus thyraeus truly is a kool katydid.

Acknowledgments Thanks indeed to the Orthopterists’ So- ciety for providing funding for this study through the Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund. Funding for this study and for my PhD was also provided by Mondi Group.

References 1. Samways MJ, Broughton WB. 1976. Song modification in the Orthoptera II. Types of acoustic interaction betweenPlatycleis Figure 4. Call times of Thoracistus thyraeus in the seven sampled biotopes. The greatest activity intermedia and other species of the genus of the species was found in the forest-grassland ecotones. (Abbreviations used- G: Grassland, GP: (Tettigoniidae). Physiological Entomology 1: Grassland-plantation ecotone, FG: Forest grassland ecotone, OC: Open canopy/immature planta- 287 – 297. tions, CC: Closed canopy/mature plantations, CCF: Indigenous forest-closed canopy plantations 2. Morton ES. 1975. Ecological sources of ecotone, F: Indigenous forests). Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 7 METALEPTEA selection on avian sounds. The American Naturalist 109: 17–34. 3. Arak A, Eiriksson T. 1992. Choice of singing sites by male bush crickets (Tettigonia viridissima) in relation to signal propaga- tion. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 30: 365–372. 4. Picker M, Griffiths C, Weaving A. 2004. Field guide to insects of South Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 5. Bazelet CS, Thompson AC, Naskrecki P. 2016. Testing the efficacy of global biodi- versity hotspots for insect conservation: The case of South African katydids. PLoS One 11: 1–17. 6. Rentz DCF. 1988. The shield-backed katy- dids of southern Africa: their taxonomy, ecology and relationships to the faunas of Australia and South America (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae). Invertebrate Systematics 2: 223–335. 7. Bazelet CS, Naskrecki P. 2014. Thoracistus thyraeus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T20659741A56073972. Figure 5. Spectrogram of a simple soundscape, highlighting how the species call at different fre- 8. Krause B. 1993. The niche hypothesis. The quencies to avoid acoustic competition with each other. Green squares showThorasistus thyrae- Soundscape Newsletter 6: 1–6. us calls, orange squares show Plangia sp. 1 calls, and the two purple boxes show cricket choruses, which were not analysed here. Oh, you shouldn’t have: investigating the role of nuptial gift proteins in decorated cricket sexual conflict By IAN RINES School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, USA [email protected] lthough sexual reproduc- ing frequency can tion is inherently coop- be detrimental to erative, it is frequently female fitness. beset with conflicts of This has been interest between the well-documented AAsexes (Arnqvist and in Drosophila, Rowe 2005). Conflicts over female where male ac- mating frequency and the paternity of cessory gland a female’s offspring are common: a proteins are known male’s interests are best served when to decrease female a female utilizes only his sperm to lifespan and sexual fertilize her eggs, whereas females receptivity, while often benefit by seeking further mat- increasing egg- ings with different males (Arnqvist laying (Chapman Figure 1. A male decorated cricket (bottom) attaching his spermato- and Rowe 2005). This disagreement et al. 1995; Wolf- phore to a female (top). Photograph by D. Funk. between the sexes favors male adapta- ner 2002). In some and behavior to the benefit of the gift- tions to protect their paternity, such insect species, the sexual conflict giving male. as mate guarding and ejaculatory sub- between males and females may be In decorated crickets, Gryllodes stances that serve to decrease female further mediated via the provisioning sigillatus, the food gift consumed by remating. Female counter-adaptations of nuptial food gifts by males (Lewis females is known as the spermato- to regain control of mating can lead et al. 2014). These food items, given phylax, a gelatinous mass forming to an arms race known as sexually an- by males to females at mating, func- part of the male’s spermatophore that tagonistic coevolution (Arnqvist and tion primarily to increase sperm trans- is transferred to females at mating Rowe 2005). fer (Lewis et al. 2014), but they may (Sakaluk 1984; Sakaluk et al. 2006) Male manipulation of female remat- further manipulate female physiology (Figure 1). Feeding on the spermato- Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 8 METALEPTEA extract injection influenced the subse- quent mating behavior of female dec- orated crickets. However, previously mated females took longer to mount a subsequent courting male compared with unmated females. Surprisingly, females that had previously mated, but were prevented from consuming the food gift, fed on the spermatophy- lax for a longer time after remating than previously unmated females did. As time spent feeding on the food gift is tightly correlated with sperm trans- fer, this would lead to these females receiving more sperm. Previously mated females that were allowed to normally consume the food gift did not differ from previously unmated females in their subsequent gift con- sumption. Additionally, neither injec- tion, nor mating treatment, affected subsequent egg laying by females. The effect of mating treatment sug- Figure 2. Experimental design showing female mating and injection treatments. gests that female behavior is altered by mating experience. The receipt of phylax prevents the female from re- 2015). accessory gland proteins may account moving the sperm-containing portion As a first step in a series of experi- for this, but we found no effect of of the spermatophore (ampulla) and ments designed to uncover the role of injection of accessory gland proteins. terminating sperm transfer, thus entic- spermatophylax proteins in mediating The lack of a direct effect could be ing females into relinquishing some the sexual conflict between male and due to an inadequate injection dosage control over insemination (Sakaluk et female decorated crickets, we tested or the unnatural route of administra- al. 2006). Interestingly, consumption the hypothesis that accessory gland tion by injection. In light of these of decorated cricket food gifts de- proteins mediate female remating and results, the role of accessory gland creases sexual receptivity in females egg laying rate. To avoid potential proteins on female remating behav- of a non-gift-giving cricket species confounding effects of differential ior remains unclear. Regardless, the (Acheta domesticus) (Sakaluk et al. female consumption of gifts and di- effect of prior mating on latency of 2006), demonstrating the potential gestion, females were injected with a females to remate could be beneficial for males to manipulate females via solution of accessory gland proteins to males, potentially reducing compe- spermatophylax compounds. A recent or, to control for the injection of tition with future males by decreasing study of the decorated cricket sper- protein or an injection per se, with a the receptivity of females to remate. matophylax revealed the presence solution of stridulatory muscle protein It is possible that females themselves of 30 different proteins, the majority or a saline solution (Figure 2). We could be directly responding to mat- of which are encoded by genes ex- also varied female mating status, us- ing, but the fitness benefits that would pressed in the male accessory glands ing unmated females, females mated be gained by mating with multiple (Pauchet et al. 2015). Unsurprisingly, normally and allowed to consume the males (Ivy & Sakaluk 2005) suggests for proteins involved in a potential food gift, or females mated but ex- that females should not delay future arms race between males and fe- perimentally prevented from consum- matings. In addition, effects of mating males, most of those identified were ing the gift. We predicted that with treatment on food gift consumption not similar to any proteins of known increased receipt of accessory gland and, thus, sperm transfer time, sug- biological function. However, where proteins by females, either through gests that food gift consumption influ- putative functions could be ascribed, injection, prior mating, or both, the ences female re-mating behavior. The the assignments hint at functions to less likely they would be to engage in direction of this effect of prior food protect other active components from future mating and the more eggs they gift consumption would be to reduce digestion and the physiological ma- would lay. sperm transfer in subsequent matings, nipulation of females (Pauchet et al. We did not find that accessory gland which would align with the interests Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 9 METALEPTEA of the first-mating male. my co-advisors, Drs. Ben Sadd and Scott 10: 20140336. Overall, this study contributes to Sakaluk at Illinois State University. Pauchet Y, Wielsch N, Wilkinson PA, Sakaluk SK, Svatoš A, ffrench-Constant RH, Hunt our understanding of the effects of J, & Heckel DG. 2015. What’s in the gift? mating on female behavior and sets References Towards a molecular dissection of nup- Arnqvist G & Rowe L. 2005. Sexual Conflict the stage for further work on mecha- tial feeding in a cricket. PLoS ONE. 10: (Monographs in Behavior and Ecology, e0140191. nisms of sexual conflict, specifically Princeton University Press, Princeton). Sakaluk SK. 1984. Male crickets feed females compounds that are transferred from Chapman T, Liddle LF, Kalb JM, Wolfner MF, to ensure complete sperm transfer. Sci- males to females at mating. & Partridge L. 1995. Cost of mating in Dro- ence. 223: 609-610. sophila melanogaster females is mediated Sakaluk SK, Avery RL, Weddle CB. 2006. by male accessory gland products. Nature. Cryptic sexual conflict in gift-giving insects: Acknowledgments 373: 241-244. chasing the chase-away. American Natural- We graciously thank the Orthopterists’ Ivy TM & Sakaluk SK. 2005. Polyandry pro- ist. 167: 94-104. Society’s Theodore J. Cohn Research motes enhanced offspring survival in deco- Wolfner MF. 2002. The gifts that keep on giv- Fund for supporting this research. Thanks rated crickets. Evolution. 59: 152-159. ing: physiological functions and evolution- also to Audrey Harrod for help with Lewis SM, Vahed K, Koene JM, Engqvist L, ary dynamics of male seminal proteins in counting eggs and measuring females. Bussière LF, Perry JC, Gwynne D, Lehmann Drosophila. Heredity. 88: 85-93. This work was done in collaboration with GUC. 2014. Emerging issues in the evolu- tion of animal nuptial gifts. Biology Letters. Integrative taxonomic revision of the tribe Bryodemini Bey-Bienko, 1930 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) By LARA-SOPHIE DEY & MARTIN HUSEMANN University of Hamburg, Center for Natural History, GERMANY [email protected], [email protected]

n 1773, Pallas first described shape. Additionally, the pronotum is mized all valid, described species of the grasshopper species Gryl- cut by two or three transversal sulci the genus Angaracris with Angaracris lus (Locusta) barabensis, a and the internal carina of the posterior barabensis (Pallas, 1773) and con- relatively large species with tibiae are not greatly unequal (Bey- sidered all variation in the genus to colorful wings, a robust body Bienko, 1930). be intraspecific (Storozhenko et al. II and a buzzing flight, from his While the tribe has long been ne- 2017). This study indicated the com- journeys through the Russian counties glected taxonomically, it has received plex relationships that can be found in (Pallas, 1773). Shortly after, Fabricius more attention in recent years; e.g., the tribe and, hence, the necessity of a (1775) described Gryllus tubercu- the genus Angaracris was revised by revision of the whole tribe. latus, the only central and northern Storozhenko et al. in 2017. Based on Therefore, in our study, we used in- European species of the tribe from morphological investigations of more tegrative taxonomic and phylogenetic Sweden. This represented the starting than 1,000 specimens of the genus, methods to understand the systematics point for the establishment of a whole Storozhenko et al. (2017) synony- of the species-rich Bryodemini gen- tribe, the Bryodemini Bey-Bienko, 1930 (Acrididae: Oedipodinae). Sev- eral additional species distributed in the steppe habitats, mountains, and semi-deserts from India to Russia, were subsequently discovered and de- scribed, especially by several Russian and Chinese entomologists. Today, the tribe comprises 7 genera and more than 44 species with a distribution hotspot in North Asia (Siberia and Mongolia). The tribe is quite diverse in color patterns (Fig. 1), but most taxa share several morphological fea- Figure 1. Dorsal view of six Bryodemini species from Mongolia: a) Angaracris barabensis (Pal- tures, e.g., the colorful hindwings are las, 1773); b) Bryodemella holdereri (Kraus, 1901); c) Bryodema gebleri (Fischer von Waldheim, 1836); d) Compsorhipis bryodemoides Bey-Bienko, 1932; e) Bryodemella tuberculata (Fabricius, shorter than the elytra, and all species 1775); f) Bryodema luctuosum (Stoll, 1813). have a rather slender but robust body

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 10 METALEPTEA (single gene, chondrial sequences. All species share multi gene, mi- a relatively similar mitochondrial togenomes). Our genome size of around 16,000 bp. The first results show phylogenetic analyses based on these that the four gen- sequences are still ongoing. However, era are readily preliminary results, as well as those of distinguishable another study, already suggest that the morphologically genera cannot be resolved even based by combinations on whole mitogenomes (Chang et al. of their hind wing, 2020). hind femora, and As single- and multigene, as well hind tibia structure as whole mitogenome data did not (Fig. 2). Identi- resolve the phylogenetic relationships, fication at genus we decided to employ a large number level was done random genomic markers generated using the traits with next-generation sequencing described by Bey- (ddRAD) and target capture methods. Bienko (1930) and This data is not available yet, but we Storozhenko et al. hope that such massive data will be (2017). Unfortu- able to distinguish all taxa and hence nately, identifica- can solve the mystery of the tribe. tion at species lev- el was not as clear, Acknowledgements Figure 2. Hind femur and hind tibia structures of a) Angaracris (base of as diagnostic char- We thank the Orthopterists’ society for hind tibia dorsally with shallow transverse furrows), b) Bryodema (base financial support by the Theodore J. Cohn of hind tibia dorsally smooth or weakly pointed) and c) Bryodemella acters are over- Research Fund, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, (hind femur in dorsal view with longitudinal furrows). lapping between DAAD, DFG, and Hamburg University. species. However, Moreover, we thank the German-Mon- era: Angaracris Bey-Bienko, 1930, we were able to golian expeditions for the possibility to Bryodema Fieber, 1853, Bryodemella identify most specimens used in this obtain samples from many locations in Yin, 1982, and Compsorhipis Sau- study, but our analyses revealed syn- Mongolia. All sampling was performed ssure, 1889. Three of these genera are onymy of subspecies of Bryodema under government permit #200008 the easiest to distinguish: Angaracris gebleri (Fischer von Waldheim, 1836) (02.01.2020). We would also like to thank S.-Q. Xu and M. Sergeev for providing is characterized by shallow transverse and showed large similarity between Bryodemella tuberculata and Bryode- us material from Asia and fruitful discus- furrows at the dorsal part of the hind sions. tibia; Bryodema, in contrast, has a mella holdereri (Krauss, 1901) (Dey et al. In press). smooth or weakly pointed dorsal part References of the hind tibia, whereas Bryode- Based on our morphological identi- Bey-Bienko, G. Y. (1930). A monograph of mella has longitudinal furrows in the fication, we used DNA barcoding as the genus Bryodema Fieb. (Orthoptera, Acrididae) and its nearest allies. Annals of dorsal part of the femur (Storozhenko a first attempt to molecularly distin- guish species of the tribe. Although Zoological Museum of Academy, Leningrad, et al. 2017; Fig. 2). In contrast to the 31(1), 71-127. three aforementioned genera, Com- the species and genera we included Bischoff, I. (1997). Die Wahner Heide, ein Naturschutzgebiet und Truppenübung- psorhipis has a smoother body surface in the study were morphologically clearly identifiable, no resolution splatz in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Brandenbur- with dense long hairs and lacks thick- gische Umwelt Berichte (BUB) 1: 39-47. ened hind wing venation. All genera was obtained by using barcoding se- Breunig, T., & Thielmann, G. (1992). Bin- nendünen und Sandrasen. Landesanstalt share similar distributions and eco- quences. All species, and even genera, of the tribe were admixed throughout für Umweltschutz. logical requirements. The identifica- Budrys, E., Bačianskas, V., Budrienė, A., tion of species within these genera is the tree (Fig. 3). Similarly, the use of Dapkus, D., Švitra, G., & Ūsaitis, T. (2008). Distribution of four species of Oedipodinae much more complicated because good multiple genes (COI, H3, 12S) did not improve the tree’s resolution. Hence, grasshoppers in Lithuania (Orthoptera: identification keys with clear charac- Acrididae). New and Rare for Lithuania teristics are lacking. we sequenced entire mitochondrial Insect Species. Records and Descriptions, 20, 14-19. We performed morphological and genomes of several species belong- ing to the four target genera. We used Chang, H., Qiu, Z., Yuan, H., Wang, X., Li, X., molecular analysis of the four gen- Sun, H., ... & Huang, Y. (2020). Evolutionary era using classic molecular methods next generation sequencing and as- rates of and selective constraints on the sembled the short reads into full mito- mitochondrial genomes of Orthoptera in- Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 11 METALEPTEA sects with different wing types. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 145, 106734. Dey, L.-S., Seidel, M., Lkhagvasuren, D. & Husemann, M. (In press). From the steppe to the desert: Survey of band-winged grasshoppers from Mongolia (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) based on material from 50 years of expeditions. Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia. Laussmann, T., Radtke, A., Wiemert, T., & Dahl, A. (2010). 150 Jahre Schmetterlings- beobachtung in Wuppertal–Auswirkungen von Klima-und Landschaftsveränderungen (Lepidoptera). Entomologische Zeitschrift, 120(6), 269-277. Pallas, P. S. (1773). Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs. Zweiter Theil, Erstes Buch vom Jahr 1770. Der Kai- serlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Quinger, B. (2000). Sandmagerrasen, offene Sandfluren und Binnendünen. Handbuch Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege. Storozhenko, S. Y., Benediktov, A. A., & Huang, J. (2017). Revision of the genus Angaracris Bey-Bienko, 1930 (Orthoptera: Acrididae, Oedipodinae) with notes on the tribe Bryo- demini. Zootaxa, 4244(3), 416-428. Zacher, F. (1919). Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Geradflüglerfauna des Deutschen Alpenge- bietes (Orth.). Entomologische Mitteilun- gen (Entomol. Mitteil.) 8:100.

Figure 3. Phylogenetic tree based on the barcoding gene (COI, Cytochrome Oxidase I) showing the relationships between the genera of the tribe Bryodemini and some outgroup species. The Bayesian Inference tree was calculated with MrBayes for 100,000,000 generations. Posterior probability scores higher than 0.95 are shown as dots at nodes. Colors highlight the different genera (green = Angaracris; blue = Bryodema; orange = Bryodemella, purple = Compsorhipis, black = outgroup).

Egg morphology among the genus Pseudosermyle Caudell, 1903 (Phasmatodea) By ULISES LÓPEZ-MORA1 & ANA CELESTE MARTÍNEZ-CERVANTES2 1Museo de Zoología Alfonso L. Herrera, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, MEXICO [email protected] 2Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, UNAM, MEXICO tick insects (Phasmatodea) tant feature in the taxonomy of Phas- untrained eye back then. are a fascinating order of matodea. Von Brunn (1898) ascribed Caudell (1903) described Pseu- orthopteoids that exhibit to Brunner the following sentence dosermyle from some USA southern crypsis, meaning they look about phasmid’s eggs “für die Genera species, and then other authors includ- like twigs or leaves. They charakteristisch ist” meaning “it is ed several more species, resulting in SS have carried crypsis to ev- characteristic of the genera.” a wide distribution from the southern ery level of their life cycle, with eggs Unfortunately, in Mexico, phasmids USA to Central America. This is why resembling plant seeds. Also, they are have been very poorly studied due to I initially determined that the stick among the largest insects in the world, the difficulty of being collectedbe - insects I collected in many Mexican having the longest insect: Sadyattes cause of crypsis and nocturnal habits. states were Pseudosermyle, sug- chani. During my bachelor’s degree, I was gesting the genus is one of the most Therefore, stick insect eggs are usu- able to find themon nocturnal hikes common in the country. However, the ally big and exhibit great variability during many field expeditions. But eggs and genitalia looked a little dif- in shape. In 1871, Kaup proposed the most of the time, I was only able to ferent among them, so I decided to hypothesis that eggs are a very impor- collect one or two per hike due to my figure outwhat Pseudosermyle eggs

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 12 METALEPTEA look like in detail. In the past, I have been able to undertake some expeditions across central Mexico to collect stick insects, which includes the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Mexico, plus Mexico city. With the Theodore J. Cohn Re- search Fund, I was able to visit many other states, such as Veracruz, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Morelos (Fig. 1). In total, I was able to collect 12 different Pseudosermyle species: P. aff. tridens, P. carinulata, P. aff. striatus, P. pha- langiphora, P. procera, and seven new species (Figs. 2-4). To obtain the eggs I kept all the stick insects alive in separate cages with healthy condi- tions, and then waited for eggs to be laid. During this time, I hypothesized Figure 1. Map of sampled localities of Pseudosermyle spp. which males match up with which females because they exhibit sexual dimorphism. Fortunately, sometimes I found them mating in the feld, so the matching was easier, other times they began mating when they were in cages. After I incubated the eggs, I then bred nymphs to get adults. In this way, I completed the life cycle for all 12 species and compared the morphology of all reared and wild specimens, and found them to be similar. Therefore, I was able to as- sociate males, females, and eggs for every species. We noticed that each species has a unique egg shape (Fig. 5). Further- Figure 2. Pseudosermyle spp. A) P. aff. tridens nymph; B) Pseudosermyle sp. 1 couple; C) P. aff. more, there appear to be three dif- striatus male; D) P. aff. carinulata female. ferent oviposition techniques: drop, glued, and ootheca-like (Fig. 6). I measured 255 eggs (about 11 eggs per female and a total of 22 females) using the basic measurements of each egg structure: capsule length (L), width (W), height (H); micropylar plate length (mpl), width (mpw), and operculum length (opl) and height (oph) (Sellick, 1997). With these mea- surements, we performed a principal component analysis (PCA) and found four groups (Fig. 7) corresponding with the genital morphology of males and females, as well as a general pat- tern among the eggs. The first three components explained 96.76% of the Figure 3. Pseudosermyle spp. A) Pseudosermyle sp. 2 male; B) Pseudosermyle sp. 3 male; C) Pseu- observed variance (Fig 8 A). The vari- dosermyle sp. 4 female; D) Pseudosermyle sp. 5 male. Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 13 METALEPTEA egg pattern. To propose a proper divi- sion of Pseudosermyle we must work next on a phylogeny-based approach, using morphological features and genes, such as COI, COII, as well as including more already-described spe- cies beyond the five found here.And last, but not least, this project was a great reminder that field expeditions are always the best way to find new species and to clarify many taxonomic troubles within taxa.

Acknowledgments To the Orthopterists’ Society for finan- cial support to conduct my field expedi- Figure 4. Pseudosermyle spp. A) Pseudosermyle sp. 6 couple; B) P. phalangiphora couple; C) P. tion trip to Veracruz, Jalisco, Morelos, procera couple; D) Pseudosermyle sp. 7 female. and Guanajuato through the Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund. To CONACYT ables with the biggest contributions vided into at least four genera based for the scholarship (CVU, 599426, No. towards each component were L, mpl, on egg morphology, male and female becario: 628666, No. apoyo: 477560) that and oph for components 1, 2, and 3 morphology, and oviposition tech- provided materials and tools used in the trips. To DGAPA PAPIIT IN202415 for respectively (Fig 8 B-C). nique. Also, each egg structure (cap- the trip to Oaxaca. To SEREPSA for the In conclusion, we found that Pseu- sule, micropylar plate and operculum) 462 project to collect in REPSA, Mexico dosermyle seems to actually be di- gave us much information about the City. To EBTLT and EBCH, IB, UNAM

Figure 5. Eggs of the 12 species of Pseudosermyle. Figure 6. Oviposition techniques amongPseudosermyle, A) drop Pseudoser- myle sp. 7; B) glued Pseudosermyle sp. 5; and C) ootheca-like P. aff. tridens.

Figure 7. 3D graphic of PCA with 96.76% of explained variance repre- Figure 8. Graphics of PCA: A) percentage of explained variance; B) contribu- sented; A) axis X rotated; B) axis Y rotated. tion of variables to dimension 1; C) contribution of variables to dimension 2; D) contribution of variables to dimension 3.

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 14 METALEPTEA for facilities and access to the biological ogy of the phasmid egg capsule, with an stations. To Dr. Jorge Enrique Llorente References extended key to the phasmid genera based Bousquets for aid in access to a micro- Caudell, A. N. 1903. The Phasmidae or walk- on egg structure. Systematic Entomology, scope to observe and measure the eggs ingstick of the United States. Proceedings 22: 97–122. in Museo de Zoología Alfonso L. Her- of the United States National Museum, 26: Von Brunn, M. 1898. Parthenogenese bi rera. To Biól. Susana Guzmán Gómez for 863–885. Phasmiden, bobachtet durch einen über- seeischen Kaufmann. Mitteilungen aus dem technical assistance using a focal-stacking Kaup, J. 1871. Ueber die Eier der Phasmiden. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, 15(1): Naturhistorischen Museum in Hamburg, microscope in Laboratorio de Microsco- 15: 145–161. pia y Fotografía de la Biodiversidad II, 17–24. Sellick, J. T. C. 1997. Descriptive terminol- IB, UNAM. Orthoptera Species File Grant Reports Oecanthines of high interest in the United States By NANCY COLLINS [email protected] am very grateful for the Or- look and listen for two target species, identification to species. I was able to thoptera Species File Grant Oecanthus leptogrammus and Neoxa- locate O. celerinictus (Walker, 1963) awarded to me for the purpose bea formosa. Unfortunately, despite in a weedy field across from my hotel of searching for tree crickets an extensive search of the grounds in Brownsville. of high interest in 2019. The near the Robb House and along sev- The following week, I traveled to II grant was mainly intended to eral trails, I was not able to locate Laredo to again search for O. lepto- allow me to travel to a remote part them. Several baited traps attracted grammus and N. formosa, but found of California to investigate a poten- only O. varicornis (Walker, 1869). A none. I did locate a healthy popula- tial new species, and to re-find two collecting permit granted by the sanc- tion of O. walkeri (Collins & Symes, species along the southern border of tuary allowed me Texas. Oecanthus leptogrammus (T to collect speci- Walker, 1962) was last documented mens, which were in Brownsville, Cameron county, helpful in the in- Texas, in 1962 (http://orthoptera. vestigation of two speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. potentially new aspx?TaxonNameID=1128131). Mexican species. Neoxabea formosa (T Walker, 1967) On the third day was last documented in Browns- in the Browns- ville in 1912 (http://orthoptera. ville area, with speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. assistance from aspx?TaxonNameID=1128172). Melissa Jones While O. leptogrammus is well- from the Texas documented in Mexico and Central Parks and Wild- America, very little is known about life Department, N. formosa, and there are no known I searched in Re- recordings of the male’s song. Given saca de La Palma the destruction occurring along the State Park. There, southern Texas border, I felt it was too, I found only important to search for these two spe- O. varicornis. cies in 2019. So, in early May, I trav- I did find and eled to Brownsville and stayed two photograph nights in the Robb House in the Sabal two individu- Palm Sanctuary. The sanctuary sits on als in the genus the U.S. side of the Rio Grande and of Obolopteryx south of the border wall. I spent the (Cohn, Swan- majority of daylight hours looking on son & Fontana, and under vegetation that tree crickets 2014), however tend to prefer. I was also able to walk the photos were Figure 1. Lake Annie, Modoc County safely on the grounds two nights to not sufficient for

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 15 METALEPTEA various sagebrush number of wasps intent on protecting and rabbitbrush their neighborhood. Additionally, the species in the Lake road conditions made an after-dark Annie area also had visit unsafe. In the areas surrounding good numbers of the Dudleyville, however, I did encounter snakeweed grasshop- good numbers of O. texensis (Symes per, Hesperotettix & Collins, 2013) and several O. ar- viridis (Thomas, gentinus. 1872). At Boyce Thompson Arboretum Oecanthus major near Superior, AZ, I was able to was described from photograph and record the song Mexico in 1967 by of Ligurotettix coquilletti (Mc- Thomas J. Walker. In Neill, 1897) (http://orthoptera. 2010, Lon Brehmer speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. and Enriqueta Flores- aspx?TaxonNameID=1105498). Guevara posted Further north, in Mayer, I en- photos on BugGuide. countered Eremopedes bilineatus net of a brown-form (Thomas, 1875) (http://orthoptera. female Oecanthine speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. with a very long aspx?TaxonNameID=1142204). ovipositor from Dud- I will continue to monitor both leyville, Pinal Coun- BugGuide.net and iNaturalist.org on ty, Arizona. In 2018, a daily basis for submissions of tree Walker confirmed crickets, in the hopes of one day find- it as O. major. This ing O. leptogrammus and N. formosa was the first reported in Texas, O. major in Arizona, and O. occurrence of that salvii in additional sites. Additionally, species in the U.S. as of November, 2020, the female Figure 2. Oecanthus salvii In October, I holotype of N. formosa has been lo- traveled to Pinal cated in the Natural History Museum 2012) on the campus grounds of the County in southeast in South Kensington, London (UN- Texas A&M International University. Arizona to join Lon Brehmer and MUK). The morphology and song of Ken R. Schneider posted photos on Enriqueta Flores-Guevara to search the male of remains unknown. BugGuide.net of a tree cricket from for O. major (http://orthoptera. Lake Annie, Modoc county, Cali- speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. fornia in 2017 and 2018. Although aspx?TaxonNameID=1128096). The they had characters similar to both spot where they had found a female in O. argentinus (Saussure, 1874) and 2010 was just as remote as the site of O. quadripunctatus (Beutenmüller, O. salvii, but with 1894), the coloring was an unusual a much more rug- milky pastel green color and the upper ged drive that re- outer mark on the first antennal seg- quired some minor ment had an unusual shape. road repairs to get In late July, I traveled to Lake An- there (Fig. 3). An nie (Fig. 1) in Modoc County in far extensive search of northeast California, to search for the the vegetation in third species of high interest. Some the area of Grants of the grant money was used to hire a Wash was carried guide as the location is rather remote. out, but no tree I was able to locate several indi- crickets were en- viduals of this now newly described countered. Unfor- species - Oecanthus salvii (Collins, tunately, vigorous 2020) (Fig. 2) (http://orthoptera. sweeping of shrubs speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa. and plants were Figure 3. Road to Grants Wash near Dudleyville, AZ aspx?TaxonNameID=1240251). The hampered by a large Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 16 METALEPTEA Field observations on the feeding habits of the European Schmidt’s marbled bush cricket By CHARLOTTE PAGE University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences, Lincoln, UK [email protected] upholidoptera schmidti (also known as Schmidt’s marbled bush-cricket, http:// orthoptera.speciesfile. EE org/Common/basic/Taxa. aspx?TaxonNameID=1142968) is currently the only known species of Eupholidoptera to reside in Albania, although there is a shortage of information available on the flora and fauna of the country (Lemonnier et al. 2015). This species is most commonly found in shrubland, open forest, or at forest edges (Lemonnier- Darcemont et al 2018) where it Figure 1. Eupholidoptera schmidti feeding on the seed of a branched asphodel while a defensive feeds on other insects and plants snail interrupts its meal. (Charpentier 1825). It is described as a “medium-sized species” with long, upcurved titillators (Allegrucci et interfering with its feeding and caus- Fieber, F.X. 1861. Die Europaischen Hemip- ing the cricket to lose its footing. tera. Halbflugler (Rhynchota Heteroptera). al. 2013). E. schmidti is considered Eur. Hem, 45, 172-73 to be “of least concern” in terms of White-McLean, J. A. 2011. Terrestrial Mollusc Acknowledgments conservation status (Hochkirk et al. Tool. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Center for Plant Fernando Montealegre-Z and Klaus-G Health. Science and Technology and the 2016). Heller helped with species identification. University of Florida. Accessed December 2020 from: http://idtools.org/id/mollusc Observations References The male E. schmidti (Fieber 1861) Allegrucci, G., Massa, B., Trasatti, A. & pictured in Figure 1 was observed at a Sbordoni, V. (2013) A taxonomic revision woodland edge at Karavasta Lagoon, of western Eupholidoptera bush crickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae): testing the Divjakё-Karavasta National Park, discrimination power of DNA barcode. Albania. The interaction was docu- Systematic Entomology, 39(1) mented in a high quality video (avail- Lemonnier-Darcemont, M., Kati, I. V., Wil- lemse, L. & Darcemont, C. (2018) Effects of able at https://www.youtube.com/ changing grazing systems on the threat- watch?v=h40N5TTYCWE). The foot- ened genus Peripodisma (Orthoptera: Acri- age was filmed on June 1, 2018 using didae: Melanoplinae) in the Mediterranean a Nikon D3200 in combination with mountains of the southern Balkans. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 16, 67-79 a Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens. Charpentier (1825) De Orthopteris Europaeis. This male was observed feeding on Horae entomologicae, adjectis tabulis the perennial herb Asphodelus ramo- novem coloratis, apud A. Gosohorsky, Wratislaviae 61-181 sus (branched asphodel), but, interest- Hochkirch, A., Chobanov, D.P., Massa, B., ingly, there was a snail, Monacha car- Skejo, J. Skejo, Ivkovic, S., Willemse, tusiana (White-McLean 2011), also L.P.M., Rutschmann, F., Kleukers, R., Kristin, A., Presa, J.J. & Szovenyi, G. present on the plant, which appeared (2016) Eupholidoptera schmidti. The to be acting defensively regarding its IUCN Red List of Threatened Species territory. As seen in Figure 1, the snail 2016: e.T68379164A74538718. https:// was extending its mouth and lower dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS. T68379164A74538718.en. Downloaded on tentacles over the body of the cricket, 09 December 2020

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 17 METALEPTEA Interview with Futaro Okuyama By RICARDO MARIÑO-PÉREZ University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA [email protected]; [email protected] t was a pleasure to receive as Q2: Do you collect a gift the book “図鑑 日本 alone or with some- の鳴く虫 コオロギ類 キリ one else? ギリス類 捕り方から飼い FO: I collected 方まで” “Japanese crickets almost everything; II and katydids: from how to perhaps friends col- catch them to how to rear them” by lected about 10%. Futaro Okuyama (2018; ISBN 978- 4-904837-67-2, 160 pp.) (Fig. 1). Q3: How long did Although written in Japanese, it was it take you to write delightful to enjoy each page because your book? there is not a single page without an FO: The writing illustration. This book contains in- itself was just about formation of more than 170 species a year but I spent from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Only 5-6 years taking the photographs of live specimens are pictures. included in order to properly portray the dynamics of these singing or- Q4: What sources thopterans. Features, such as general did you use to iden- morphology, habitat, phenology, tify the crickets and distribution, and abundance are pro- katydids? vided (Fig. 2). There are also sections FO: There are only about collecting methods and a deep two scholarly books section devoted to breeding methods on Orthoptera in Ja- that includes different common food pan. 1. Orthoptera types and specific types of cages and of the Japanese Ar- microhabitats suggestions (soil types, chipelago in Color light exposition, ideal cage size and (2006; ISBN: 978- densities) for successfully rearing 4-8329-8161-4) and Figure 1. Cover of “Japanese crickets and katydids: from how to catch specimens. Additionally, a cultural 2. The Standard of them to how to rear them” by Futaro Okuyama section about cricket fights and all the Polyneoptera in Ja- related paraphernalia closes this book pan (2016; ISBN: cricket but I do not know how I will (Fig. 3). 978-4-05-406447-8). The two books feel tomorrow. are the main sources of information, After carefully reviewing each page and the rest is my own observation. Q7: What was the easiest and hard- of this book, I decided to interview est cricket and katydid to find and to the author, in order to have a better Q5: Do you know any orthopterolo- rear? sense of his reasons and background gist (person that study crickets, katy- FO: The easiest crickets to find in Ja- that made him pursue the endeavor of dids and grasshoppers)? pan are Loxoblemmus campestris and publishing this book. FO: Unfortunately, I do not have such Ornebius kanetataki, and Gampso- an acquaintance. I know that there cleis buergeri for katydids. The most Q1: How do you become interested in is only one Orthoptera researcher in difficult to collect, for me, isPara - crickets and katydids? Japan; Ricardo was very kind in help- songella japonica. For katydids, it’s FO: I have always loved insects since ing me to identify a grasshopper from Gibbomeconema odoriko. However, I was a kid. I was particularly inter- Malaysia. there are many undescribed species ested in katydids because of their cool in Japan, especially in the Ogasawara appearance but I do not know exactly Q6: What is your favorite cricket or Islands, there seem to be many un- why; I just love their beautiful appear- katydid? known and rare orthopterans. ance. FO: This is a very difficult question. I like both as much. Today’s feeling is Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 18 METALEPTEA

Figure 2. Example of the book content Q8: What is your favorite technique to collect them? FO: Sometimes I use a light trap, but it is best to just walk in the middle of the night and look for them.

Q9: What is the place in Japan where you have collected the most species of crickets and katydids? FO: The Ryukyu Islands, such as Okinawa, are the most species-rich. Nearly half of the total was collected in Okinawa.

Q10: What is the best season of the year to collect them? FO: Orthoptera in Japan are active since the end of summer. In Honshu (around Tokyo), there are many from mid-August to early October. The best season in Okinawa is from August to November.

Q11: Have you collected in other Figure 3. A section describing cultural aspects of cricket fights. countries? FO: I collected only a few in China. Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 19 METALEPTEA However, many were purchased at Japan and Asia. It seems that it will lish, but this book was created for the market. The insects on pages 152 be many years before I can collect as nature lovers and amateur insect re- and 153 of my book were collected in much as I want in other countries. searchers. China. Q13: Are you interested in writing a Q15: Where can we buy your book? Q12: What is your dream country to book about grasshoppers? FO: In Japan, bookstores sell it ev- collect after Japan? FO: Yes! I want to make a grasshop- erywhere, but I think it is realistic for FO: I traveled the World when I was per book. I am taking pictures of people outside Japan to buy it on Am- young. After all, the farther away grasshoppers little by little. However, azon. I am thinking of ways to make from Japan, the more exciting and in- Japanese publishers do not seem to be it easier for foreigners to buy. teresting insects there are. Especially very interested in grasshoppers Suriname and Venezuela are dream You can email Futaro at info@ destinations to me. I would also want Q14: Who is the target audience for akimushi.com. to travel to Madagascar. However, your book? I still have to spend a lot of time in FO: It is difficult to express in Eng- Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) - A Success Story By MOHAMED LEMINE HAMOUNY CLCPRO Executive Secretary, ALGERIA [email protected] he Desert Locust is the most formidable of the locust pests of agro- sylvo-pastoral resources. It poses a threat to ag- TT riculture in a very large area of ​​the world stretching from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Indo- Pakistan border through the Middle East. Its ability to migrate hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers makes it an international problem with major economic, social, and environmental effects. This pest therefore constitutes a food security issue for major eco- nomic, social, public health, and envi- control strategy, that is to say the gularly confronted by many desert ronmental systems. regular monitoring of the desert locust locust invasions, the last of which, To deal with the problem of the biotopes, the early warning and the from 2003 to 2005, resulted in the Desert Locust in the Western Region, rapid response as well as to coordi- treatment of more than 12 million which includes West and North-West nate its control between its member hectares requiring a financial amount Africa, the Commission for the Con- countries. More specifically, the pur- of nearly $570 million USD. Howe- trol of the Desert Locust in the West- pose of the Commission is to promote ver, thanks to the strengthening of the ern Region (CLCPRO) was created at national, regional and international preventive control strategy, six locust under the aegis of the United Nations level all actions, in particular research outbreaks have been contained since Food and Agriculture Organization and training with a view to ensuring a the 2003-2005 invasion, including the (FAO), bringing together 10 member rational and sustainable management locust menace in the Sahel in 2012- countries (Algeria, Burkina Faso, of preventive control and to cope with 2013, which could have evolved into Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Desert Locust invasions. an upsurge. Niger, Senegal, Chad, and Tunisia). The Western Region, already This control is the result of a whole Its role is to promote the preventive weakened by severe droughts, is re- policy implemented by the Commis- Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 20 METALEPTEA sion and its member countries which rational regional cooperation tool that Controlling the Desert Locust in is based on very efficient financing ensures and strengthens prospecting the Western Region (CLCPRO) - A and intervention mechanisms to deal and preventive control activities in Success Story. The objective of its with any change in the locust situa- four frontline countries (Mali, Mauri- achievement is to highlight all the tion. Thus, the annual contributions of tania, Niger, and Chad) during major efforts implemented by the Com- member countries to the Trust Fund resurgences and early Desert Locust mission that led to the success of the of the Commission increased from upsurge. preventive control strategy in the $227,000 to $639,000 USD in 2011 All these advances have been made Western Region and also the mecha- and a Regional Locust Risk Manage- concrete thanks to the involvement of nisms developed for the management ment Fund (FRGRA) was created in the FAO and the solid commitment of of possible locust crises. 2014 to manage exclusively all locust the member countries of the Commis- situations of resurgence and early up- sion as well as technical and financial The film is produced in three ver- surge. partners (Agence Française de Deve- sions: French, English, and Arabic, The CLCPRO was also reinforced lopment-AFD, African Development accessible through the links below: by a Western Region Intervention Bank-ADB and the Agency of United 1. French Version: https://youtu.be/ Force (FIRO), positioned at the le- States for International Develop- pmkqiyReayM vel of the main base in Nouakchott ment-USAID). 2. English Version: https://youtu.be/ (Mauritania) and at the level of the In light of the above, the CLCPRO g4jDZ6tR1mg secondary base in N’Djamena (Chad). Secretariat has produced a short do- 3. Arabic Version: https://youtu.be/ Its objective is to implement an ope- cumentary entitled: Commission for quTK-f9X8Ik

Proceedings of the 2020 ESA Symposium: “Small Orders, Big Ideas (Polyneoptera)” By DEREK A. WOLLER1, ABIGAIL HAYES2, JOSEPH SWEENEY3, & HOJUN SONG4 1USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T Phoenix Lab, AZ, USA [email protected] 2Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA [email protected] 3Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA [email protected] 4Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, USA [email protected] ince 2014, a symposium ferences for years to come. Over time, and, as always, we attribute a major- focused on Polyneoptera one of the event’s goals has been to ity of the event’s success to the won- has been part of the annual have the symposium co-organized derful speakers and their engaging Entomological Society of with the assistance of a student, which presentations. Plus, we had another America (ESA) confer- has occurred successfully the last 3 excellent keynote speaker, the one- SS ence, containing presenta- times. Thus, Derek and Hojun’s two and-only Janice S. Edgerly (who has tions by a balanced ratio of younger main roles these days are to apply now entertained the audience 6 of the researchers (often students) and sea- for the meeting and assist the student 7 years we’ve done this). As always, soned ones, and covering interesting as needed when they are selecting she presented on her endlessly fasci- topics that focus on one or more of and inviting speakers, as well as nating Embiodea, this time regarding the 10 extant polyneopteran orders: moderating the meeting, all of which their bulky genomes and silky genes. Blattodea (+Isoptera), Dermaptera, gives students invaluable experience The other five speakers were Aaron J. Embiodea, Grylloblattodea, Manto- in organizing symposia. For 2020’s Mullins, Federico Marangoni, Amy dea, Mantophasmatodea, Orthoptera, event, we were lucky enough to have M. Worthington, Alexandre Caouette, Phasmatodea, Plecoptera, and Zorap- two student co-organizers who did a and Stav Talal. Together, these talks tera. This symposium (or “organized great job overall despite the switch to covered three of the Polyneopteran meeting,” depending on the whim of a virtual format (due to the ongoing orders: Orthoptera (always!), Blat- the conference organizers) quickly be- SARS-CoV-2 pandemic) and several todea: Isoptera, and Embiodea. More- came an annual tradition (2020 marks unfortunate cancellations by speakers. over, a diverse array of topics were its 7th time so far!) and will hopefully This year, we had six speakers from discussed, ranging from biomimicry continue to be a mainstay at ESA con- three countries (U.S.A., Canada, Italy) to monitoring via bioacoustics to diet

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 21 METALEPTEA preferences. technology. As the If you would like to learn more consummate build- about the presentations, a brief ab- ers of the animal stract and figure for all are provided world, humans have below. Sadly, we had to break with mimicked both the tradition this year and skip the unoffi- form of their tower- cial Orthopterists’ Society communal ing mounds and the meal at a local restaurant to celebrate manner in which the success of the event, so here’s a distributed force hoping we can do it twice in 2021 to of minute work- make up for it! ers coordinate their Finally, we have a request for labor to construct Workers and soldiers of Syntermes nanus Constantino initiating con- students working on polyneopteran them. Architects struction of a protective staging area prior to above-ground foraging. insects. Assuming the symposia is have turned to the Structures constructed by termites represent extended phenotypes approved yet again for the November manner in which made of self-organized systems with emergent properties. 2021 ESA meeting, we’ll need some- termites ventilate one new to co-organize it with us. Not their mounds to pro- do2, Giacomo Ortis2, Filippo Maria Buz- only is this a unique opportunity to duce more energy efficient solutions. zetti3, Paolo Fontana4, Gionata Stancher3, 2 learn about the organization of sym- Swarm intelligence in termites led to and Luca Mazzon 1Università degli Studi di Verona Depart- posia, and even conferences, it also the discovery of one of the earliest ment of Biotechnology, Italy 2Univer- brings you in contact with some of the and most robust self-organizational sità degli Studi di Padova Department of most interesting researchers out there algorithms, stigmergy, which has Agronomy, Animals, Food, Natural Re- who are focusing on Polyneoptera. been adapted to diverse applications, sources and Environment (DAFNAE), Ideally, the student will have been a including quorum sensing for inter- Italy, 3Fondazione Museo Civico di Rov- 4 past presenter in the symposia, but it’s net search engines, maximization of ereto, Italy, Fondazione Edmund Mach not required. If you don’t feel like you subterranean resource discovery, and - Centro Trasferimento Tecnologico, Italy want to take up this responsibility in even autonomous construction us- 2021 or beyond, but still want to pres- ing multiple robots working on the In recent years, changes in popula- ent in our symposia next year or in the same task with decentralized control tion density have been observed for future, feel free to also contact Derek (swarm robotics). some orthopteran species in north- and Hojun. Either way, we’re looking Termites are also a force of decom- eastern Italy. Such variations can be forward to your response!! position in nature. The termite gut attributable to outbreaks and are of represents one of nature’s most im- considerable interest as they have pressive bioreactors, breaking down important impacts on agriculture and From construction to decomposi- cellulose and lignin present in sound forestry. For example, in the hilly tion: Termite contributions to novel wood, freeing carbon for a variety Euganean Hills area of this region, biomimicry innovations and elusive of uses. In some cases, termites even unexpected outbreaks of the bush- goals extract carbon from mineral soil with cricket Pholidoptera aptera aptera very little organic matter via extreme have recently been recorded, whereas Aaron J. Mullins ([email protected]), alkaline digestion chambers pres- no demographic increase has been University of Florida, U.S.A., Paul Bar- ent in the gut. They are also adept observed in their typical areas across dunias, and Nan-Yao Su at fixing nitrogen when their diet is the pre-alpine and alpine areas. There- poor in the essential nutrient. From fore, through the analysis of genetic A termite mound represents many teeming multitudes within, to soaring variability, this preliminary study was levels of complex interactions and mounds without, termites are a model aimed at elucidating whether outbreak symbioses. Starting with the self-or- representation of the superorganism. ​ populations from the Euganean Hills ganized behavior, which designs and are genetically distinct from latent constructs them, all the way down to Preliminary assessment of the genet- (non-outbreak) populations from the the termite gut made up of hundreds ic population structure of Pholidop- pre-alpine and alpine areas. of different symbiotic microorganisms tera aptera aptera (Fabricius, 1793) A total of 150 samples were collect- that all contribute to the final product. (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) in the ed in seven sites across the pre-alpine As a whole, termites tend to specialize north–east Italy and alpine areas, as well as the Euga- in both construction and decomposi- nean and Berici Hills areas. To avoid tion. They have thus been a source of Federico Marangoni1 (federico.marango- collecting relatives, samples were inspiration for many types of human [email protected]), Isabel Martinez-Sañu- collected by sweeping an area at least

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 22 METALEPTEA environmental haviors, as well as quantified whether conditions, or both infection negatively affects female of these combined. mate preference. We compared court- ship behaviors, calling abilities, and The host with the mating success rates between infected most: Field crick- and healthy males to identify how ets alter their host reproductive fitness is affected by physiology and this large, long-lived parasite. behavior for their Interestingly, we found that while the parasites physical size of somatic and reproduc- tive structures was unaffected, host Amy M. Worthing- cricket mass was reduced by nearly ton (amyworthing- 30% upon parasite emergence. This [email protected]) Pholidoptera aptera aptera in natural environment. and Emily Harders, can likely be attributed to infected Creighton Univer- crickets having significantly fewer fat reserves, which in turn reduces 100 m2 at each sampling site. DNA sity, U.S.A. the energetic resources available for was extracted using the salting out costly courtship activities in reproduc- method from the metafemoral muscle Parasites often manipulate their tively mature male crickets. Our pre- and a mitochondrial fragment corre- host’s behavior and physiology, re- liminary results suggest that infected sponding to the Cytochrome Oxidase sulting in detrimental effects on host males do, in fact, produce fewer Subunit 1 (COI) was then amplified fitness. The horsehair worm Parago( - spermatophores, are less likely to call and sequenced. rdius varius) is a long-lived parasite in the presence of a female, are less Preliminary results showed the pres- that infects arthropods, including the attractive to females, and have drasti- ence of 21 haplotypes; 14 exclusive to sand field cricket, Gryllus firmus. cally reduced mating success relative the alpine populations and 8 exclusive This parasite lives inside its host for to healthy males. We are currently to the Berici and Euganean popula- upwards of 28 days and can grow as working to increase our sample sizes, tions. ANOVA revealed the presence long as 30 cm, presenting a significant but our preliminary results indicate a of significant geographic structure challenge for its host’s own growth significant reproductive burden on in- among the studied populations (p < and survival. Interestingly, infection fected males, where even if host male 0.05). Outbreak populations from the by and emergence of the horsehair crickets are able to survive horsehair Euganean Hills were genetically dif- worm parasite does not always imme- worm infection, they will likely suf- ferent from pre-alpine and alpine pop- diately kill its host, yet may drastical- fer from significantly reduced lifetime ulations, but they were not genetically ly impair its host’s reproduction due reproductive fitness. distinct from the latent populations to altered host physiology and behav- of Berici Hills. SAMOVA analysis ior. Here, we tested the ability of in- showed 4 genetically distinct groups fected male crickets to properly invest corresponding to populations from: i) in sexual reproductive structures and Euganean and Berici Hills, ii) alpine energetically expensive courtship be- areas (Siusi allo Sciliar), iii) western pre-alpine areas, and iv) eastern pre- alpine areas. This preliminary genetic study on P. aptera shows a high geographi- cal structure among populations of the different distribution areas. The Berici and Euganean populations do not share any haplotypes with the pre- alpine and alpine populations, sug- gesting limited gene flow, probably due to limited dispersal ability of the flightless species. Further studies are necessary to understand whether the outbreak events are affected by genet- ic characteristics of local populations, A) An original cartoon illustrating the study system;B) Graphical summary of major findings.

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 23 METALEPTEA Using large-scale bioacoustics moni- Biodiversity Monitoring Institute State University, Tempe, AZ, United toring and audio recognition soft- (ABMI), to search for new popula- States ware to investigate the distribution tions of Roesel’s katydid in Alberta. of orthopterans in Alberta, Canada We sampled 20 sites using active Extensive research using the Geo- sampling techniques in central and metric Framework for Nutrition Alexandre Caouette (a.caouette@unb. eastern Alberta and found four un- have shown that generalist feeders ca)1,2, Kevin Judge2, and Erin Bayne3 1 reported populations of Roesel’s often behaviorally regulate their University of New Brunswick, Frederic- food choices so that they consume ton, Canada katydid. Using PAM, we analyzed 74 2MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada environmental recording sites, equal- protein:carbohydrate at a ratio that 3University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada ing 10,242 hours of audio, but failed supports maximal growth, survival, to detect any Roesel’s katydid in any and/or reproduction. Studies of the Global climate change is causing of the recordings. However, 21 of consumption of locusts given choices species’ ranges to shift. As a result, the environmental recording sites did of food differing in protein and carbo- finding tools to monitor species range contain species within Acrididae, Tet- hydrate content have generally found changes is essential for understanding tigoniidae, and Gryllidae, identified that, given a choice, locusts consume how species are responding to climate from stridulations. roughly equal amounts of protein change. For species that produce Despite not finding Roesel’s katy- and carbohydrate, or slightly more audible vocalization, using passive did in the environmental recordings, carbohydrate than protein. However, acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a useful we were able to find specimens using the vast majority of past studies on tool for monitoring changes in species field sampling methods. There are two this topic have examined only the distribution. Orthoptera is a group of possibilities for why we did not find last juvenile stage (instar) or adults. insects that produce audible vocal- Roesel’s katydid stridulations, either Early instars must prioritize growth, izations, called stridulations, where because it is not yet present outside while the last instar and adults must males produce species-specific sounds of its current distribution or it is un- prioritize preparation for dispersal and to attract females. These stridulations detectable in audio recordings under reproduction, so it seems plausible can be searched for via PAM and specific scenarios. Regardless, this that protein:carbohydrate needs vary used for monitoring pests, as well as project does show that PAM can be during ontogeny. for conservation. Roesel’s katydid, used for monitoring Orthoptera spe- To test this possibility, we measured Roeseliana roeselii (Orthoptera, Tetti- cies. We are currently using PAM and protein and carbohydrate consump- goniidae), is a species that is success- the ABMI environmental recorders tion from two artificial diets differ- fully expanding its global range in for Cyphoderris monstrosa (Propha- ing strongly in protein:carbohydrate response to various factors, including langopsidae), the great grig, to moni- content for the six juvenile instars and climate change. tor their eastern and northern range adults of the South American locust, In 2017, a population of Roesel’s limits in the Canadian Rocky Moun- Schistocerca cancellata. In addition, katydid was discovered in Alberta, tains and to collect temporal mating we measured growth and survival of far outside its naturalized North information. locusts reared on single artificial diets American range. We used field col- varying in protein:carbohydrate ratio lections and PAM, in environmental for their entire developmental period. recordings collected by the Alberta Diet preference and requirements Nutritional requirements changed shift throughout ontogeny in the dramatically during development. The South American first four instars consumed more pro- Locust (Schisto- tein than carbohydrate; whereas, later cerca cancellata) instars and adults consumed more carbohydrate than protein. When Stav Talal1 (sta- confined to a single diet throughout [email protected]), Ruth 1 all instars, survival and rate of devel- Farington , Rick opment were highest on the protein- Overson1,2, Jon Harrison1 and Ari- biased diets preferred by the early anne Cease1,2 instars. 1School of Life Body mass was also greater when Sciences, Arizona locusts were confined to protein- State University, biased diets relative to balanced or Tempe, AZ, United Histogram of the number of identified calls binned into groups (Roesel’s States carbohydrate-biased diets, especially katydid, Orthoptera, and Other) by environmental recorder location. 2School of Sustain- when measured 25 days after hatch- ability, Arizona ing, approximately when our locusts Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 24 METALEPTEA with their silk- heavy rainfall of their tropical habitat. dwelling habit. Another trait we analyzed is ge- Because silk nome size variation within the order is so critical to to compare to other insects, which their existence, have been characterized as of late. we have worked Of particular interest are those of the to untangle large assemblage, the Polyneoptera, its underlying to which Embiodea belongs. Our molecular basis genome size analysis, relying on as we seek to flow cytometry, revealed that some understand its webspinner species sport some of Two Schistocerca cancellata locust males, each 45 days old. The adult on protective func- the largest genomes found in insects, the left was reared on a diet with 28% protein and 14% carbohydrate, while the 4th instar nymph on the left was fed a diet with 7% protein and tion. An analy- rivaling many other polyneopterans 35% carbohydrate. sis of cDNAs (famous for having bulky genomes). based on mRNA For the webspinners, perhaps not sur- molted to the 5th instar and shifted to from silk glands prisingly, larger-bodied species house preferring to consume more carbo- of two Trinidadian species revealed larger genomes. Despite this pattern, hydrate. Locusts confined to carbo- repetitive motifs that typify arthropod phylogenetic signal is not apparent hydrate-biased diets did gain weight silks, especially glycine and serine, within the order. A general pattern for more quickly during later develop- which repeat in long series in the core insects is that hemimetabolous insects mental stages, but not enough to attain of the protein fiber. Interesting charac- have large genomes while those of the the same body mass as those confined teristics also appeared that might ex- holometabola have a constraint that to protein-biased diets. These data plain an unusual feature of their silks: limits their genome size; thus, webs- suggest that matching nutrition re- their tendency to transform from fiber pinners fit the pattern so far described quirements during early development to film when exposed to rain. The in the literature. critically determines developmental SEM images tinted blue, herein, show performance later in ontogeny. Also, dry fibers versus previously wetted, our research demonstrates that stud- dried, and transformed silks for one ies based solely on the final instar are of the Trinidadian spe- inadequate to predict nutritional needs cies. The continuous of locusts throughout development. film resulted after tiny Supported by NSF IOS-1826848 and droplets of water were BARD FI-575-2018. left to sit on the silk samples. The same effect is seen in natural field Exploring Embiodea: Bulky ge- colonies, which shine nomes & silky genes like plastic after rainwa- ter has transformed the Janice S. Edgerly (jedgerlyrooks@scu. outer surface of the silk edu), Santa Clara University gallery. Characteriza- tion of silk genes and Webspinners in the Order Embio- amino acids of Efibroins dea (AKA Embioptera or Embiidina) (the name for their silk display behavior, body form, and proteins) showed sur- lifestyles that have evolved under the prisingly high levels of constraints imposed by their need to hydrophilic amino acids, spin silk with their front feet. Further- which might facilitate more, they dwell in tightly construct- invasion by water of the ed galleries, on tree bark, in leaf litter, silks, which are initially or underground. As a consequence of hydrophobic (water actu- these snug abodes, their bodies are ally beads up!). Once the flexible and soft. Their locomotion, silk becomes film-like, egg-clustering and guarding, colonial water slips off, appar- SEM comparisons at different scales of dry (left) vs. previously wetted, dried, and transformed silks (right) of an Embiodea spe- life, and a suite of other traits align ently protecting the vul- cies from Trinidad. with the web of adaptation associated nerable insects from the Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 25 METALEPTEA Treasurer’s Report By PAMELA MIHM Treasurer [email protected] he Statement of Assets as of December 31, 2020 and the 2020 Summary of Cash Receipts and Expendi- tures are shown below. The Orthoptera Species File continues to be the largest cash activity. This is funded by an allocation of endowment income from the University of Illinois. The second largest use of cash was publishing the Journal of Orthoptera Research (JOR). The Society is able to support the Theodore J. Cohn Research Fund and other worthy endeavors through the generosity of some members. In particular, Ted TT Cohn’s bequest of $1.3M USD is now valued at $1.7M despite withdrawing $300,000 to support the Soci- ety. We keep a watchful eye on the investments and in 2020 we exchanged $55,000 of higher risk stock investments for $55,000 in lower risk bonds. We are pleased to report that the investments grew from $1,631,000 on December 31, 2019 to $1,754,000 on December 31, 2020 even with the economic uncertainty throughout the world. If you have any ques- tions, please contact me at [email protected].

Orthopterists’ Society Orthopterists’ Society Statement of Cash Receipts and Expenditures Statement of Assets (1/1/20 through 12/31/20) (As of December 31, 2020)

Cash Receipts Cash Dues $1,660.00 Paypal cash balance $155.82 Publications 1,295.00 Chase Bank 8,034.96 Community Foundation endowment 11,646.91 $8,190.78 Royalty and revenue sharing 4,431.58 Book reimbursements 171.12 Investments at market value Donations 10.00 Vanguard: Transfer cash from Vanguard & Wells Fargo 48,200.00 Grants (Note 1) $471,960.46 Proceeds from sale of investments 10,000.00 Operating (Note 2) 868,610.00 Sales of Vanguard stock to invest in bonds 55,000.00 University of Illinois allocation 194,000.00 1,340,570.46 Total Cash Receipts $326,414.61 Wells Fargo: AAAI (Note 3) 16,596.43 Cash Expenditures Endowment (Note 4) 42,536.12 Publisher JOR $5,165.05 Operating (Note 2) 268,475.31 Pensoft Publishers 11,741.00 Grants (Note 1) 85,496.31 JOR assistance 12,000.00 413,104.17 Research grants (Ted Cohn) 14,879.00 Total assets $1,761,865.41 Executive director remuneration 0.00 Ed. Metaleptea remuneration 1,500.00 Note 1: This fund is restricted and can only be used Assistant Ed. Metaleptea remuneration 1,000.00 for research grants. Webmaster remuneration 500.00 Note 2: This fund is nonrestricted. JOR editor remuneration 3,000.00 Note 3: This fund can only be used for the Uvarov Maintenance of Orthoptera Species File 146,000.00 Award made at each int’l meeting. Grants-Orthoptera Species File 40,356.00 Note 4: The income in this account is available for JSTOR content sharing 1,500.00 Society expenses; can extract capital but must have Publishing support-Bushcrickets 18,587.36 a plan for repaying it within 3 years. Professional fees 4,866.75 (income tax preparation and audit) Accounting reimbursement 12,000.00 Purchase of bonds with proceeds from 55,000.00 sale of stock Other 1,948.12 Total Cash Expenditures $330,043.28

Cash Receipts over Cash Expenditures $(3,628.67) Beginning Cash Balance 11,819.45 Ending Cash Balance $8,190.78

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 26 METALEPTEA a postdoc, and I am expecting a large each issue, I would like to invite an Editorial cohort of graduate students in the fall. established Society member to write By HOJUN SONG Hopefully, when I look back on 2021 a personal essay about how he/she Editor, Metaleptea at the end of this year, it will not be as got interested in Orthoptera and built [email protected] depressing as how I felt about 2020. a career as an orthopterist. I think it I am sure many of our members feel will serve as a great inspiration for hat a year it has the same way, so I wish my very best our younger members and an oppor- been! I am glad to every member of our society! tunity to get to know more about our that the year 2020 This is another great issue of members. I will be contacting the first is behind us, but it Metaleptea featuring how active our person soon! appears that the year society is, even in the midst of the To publish in Metaleptea, please WW 2021 is not going contiuing global pandemic. This issue send your contribution to hsong@ to be particularly better in terms of is full of contents and I am thankful to tamu.edu with a subject line starting how we deal with COVID-19. While all of the contributors for making this with [Metaleptea]. As for the format, the rollout of vaccines is hopeful, it issue possible. I would also like to a MS Word document is preferred and will likely take another year until the thank our Associate Editor, Derek A. images should be in JPEG or TIFF entire world gets vaccinated and reach Woller, for his continued assistance in format with a resolution of at least some level of herd immunity enough the editorial process. 144 DPI. The next issue of Metalep- for us to get back to normalcy. We In the last issue, I made a proposal tea will be published in May of 2021, will just have to continue to be more for a new section in Metaleptea, so please send me content promptly. patient, I guess. but this did not actually pan out as I look forward to hearing from you In December, I had to submit an I hoped. So, here is a reminder. For soon! annual report to the National Sci- ence Foundation for my grant on the phylogenomics of Ensifera. It was a painful experience because I real- Officers of the Orthopterists’ Society ized that I was not able to accomplish much during 2020. My lab was shut President: David Hunter, Locust and Grasshopper Control, down for more than 6 months, so data 125 William Webb Drive, McKellar ACT 2617 Australia. generation that had to be done in the [email protected] lab was not accomplished at all. Due President-Elect: Axel Hochkirch, Department of Biogeography, Trier to travel restrictions, both domesti- University, Trier, Germany. [email protected] cally and internationally, I could not Executive Director: Mohamed Abdellahi Ould Babah EBBE, l’Institut du collect key taxa that I needed. And Sahel (INSAH/CLISS), Bamako, Mali. [email protected], my international colleagues could not Treasurer: Pamm Mihm, 2417 Fields South Drive, Champaign, IL 61822 send me specimens because interna- U.S.A. [email protected]. tional carrier services were suspend- Managing Editor, JOR: Tony Robillard, Institut Systématique Evolution ed. Basically, my annual report was Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, a long list of activities that could not Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Paris, France. [email protected] be done. It was depressing to write, Editorial Assistant, JOR: Nancy Morris, North Buxton, Ontario, Canada. but it was also a reminder that I will [email protected] somehow have to catch up on all of Editor, Metaleptea: Hojun Song, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M the research activities in 2021. University, College Station, TX, U.S.A. [email protected] I have many plans for this year. Associate Editor, Metaleptea: Derek A. Woller, USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T I will likely do some fieldwork to Phoenix Lab, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A. [email protected] collect katydids and crickets from Officer, Orthoptera Species File: María Marta Cigliano, División Texas and Florida in the summer. The Entomología, Museo de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, NSF-supported Behavioral Plasticity La Plata, Argentina. [email protected] Research Institute has launched and Manager, The Ted Cohn Research Fund: Michel Lecoq, Montpellier, my lab will soon have colonies of six France. [email protected] species of Schistocerca, including all Webmaster, Orthopterists’ Society Website: Derek A. Woller, USDA- three locust species, S. gregaria, S. APHIS-PPQ-S&T Phoenix Lab, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A. cancellata, and S. piceifrons, which [email protected] will be used for some exciting re- search. For the first time, I will have

Volume 41 (1) / January 2021 27