The GSG Newshopper

Newsletter of the IUCN SSC Specialist Group August 2014

Red List status of South African Katydids Threatened on the Seychelles The rescue of the Lord Howe Island Stick

GSG Newshopper - August 2014

Title and author(s) Page

Report from the Chairs ...... 3 A. Hochkirch & M. Bushell

Are Mantids in Good Health? ...... 4 R. Battiston & K. Schütte

How help discovering new in the Netherlands . . 6 R. Kleukers

Red-list Assessments of South African Katydids . . . . . 7 C. Bazelet

Good news for Acrostira euphorbiae ...... 10 D. Hernández, H. López & P. Oromí

A hope for the Crau Plain Grasshopper ...... 11 M. Bushell, A. Hochkirch & L. Tatin

New Orthoptera-app and wiki-website ...... 17 F. Rutschmann, M. Riesen & C. Roesti

Searching for grasshoppers and crickets in Paradise . . . . 19 A. Hochkirch

A large threatened weta is saved from extinction in New Zealand . . 23 C. Watts

The conservation of the Lord Howe Island stick insect and an update on the . 26 ex-situ programme R. Cleave

The discovery of the Mexican grasshopper Liladownsia fraile . . . 30 P. Fontana & R. Mariño-Pérez

Rarity and ordinariness in bush crickets: status quo versus data accumulation . 37 D. Chobanov

Recent paper abstracts ...... 41 M. Bushell

IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group Members - July 2014 . . . 49

Front Page: Cave Katydid (Cedarbergeniana imperfecta) from South Africa, recently listed as Critically endangered. Photo by Piotr Naskrecki.

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Report from the Chairs Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the 2014 issue of the Newshopper, the newsletter for the IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group! We had a great deal of really excellent articles for this issue, so many thanks to all who contributed.

In addition to our Facebook page where we can keep members updated, we now also have a webpage hosted by the IUCN containing further information about our group and some of the activities we have participated in, as well as featuring some species of Orthoptera and related taxa that are of interest to the conservation community.

Since 2013 the group has been very active, with one of our first activities being a red-listing workshop held in Leiden, the Netherlands focusing on the European Orthoptera. This led to the first major update of the Orthoptera in November 2013 with 60 new species being added to the IUCN Red List. By May 2014 we have now assessed a total of 337 species of Orthoptera, with plans to increase this number continuously over the next few years. As 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the IUCN Red List this is a great opportunity to promote the conservation of Orthoptera.

Also, in May 2014 a conservation strategy planning meeting was held in South France for the Crau Steppe Grasshopper, a species recently assessed as Critically Endangered and now the focus of a conservation effort, a report of which is featured in this newsletter. Hopefully this will be the first of many such projects and will help to highlight the importance of this charismatic group of invertebrates.

As the group is expanding and becoming more proactive, and with Axel taking over the reins as the Chair of the IUCN Invertebrate Conservation Sub-Committee, it was decided to enlist another co-chair to help keep things running at the pace they are currently, Mark Bushell has accepted this position and hopes to keep the momentum of our group going, with many new activities and projects planned for the coming years.

Please keep us informed about new and ongoing conservation projects of Orthoptera and their allies so that we can include these reports in the next Newshopper.

Best wishes, Axel Hochkirch & Mark Bushell, Co-Chairs

Attendees at the red-listing workshop held in Leiden, the Netherlands, May 2013. (l-r) Pedro Cordero Tapia, Luc Willemse, Rebecca Miller (IUCN Red List Unit), Stanislav Gomboc, Baudewijn Odé, Josip Skejo, 3 Axel Hochkirch, Roy Kleukers, Dragan Chobanov, Gergely Szovenyi, Michael Sergeev, Mark Bushell, Paolo Fontana

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Are mantids in good health?

Roberto Battiston & Kai Schütte

We don’t have the answer to this question yet, but we’re working on it with the ongoing project European Redlisting of Mantodea. What we know is that research on mantid conservation is becoming more important. After a remarkable disinterest for these charismatic during the second half of the last century, within the last few years mantids have become an interesting field of research, including conservation. There are still few specialists working on these insects but the group of experts is steadily growing and what is even better, the cooperation is increasing. One of these joint efforts was recently published (May 2014) in the special issue of the scientific journal Zootaxa (3797), entirely dedicated to mantids, entitled “A revived focus on the praying ”. It contains 12 articles from 22 authors, often the result of international collaborations. More interest also means a greater focus on conservation problems - problems we have dealt with in the special issue. aptera (photo – R. Battiston)

How diversity influences conservation will be discussed in York at the European Congress of Entomology in August 2014, which will host a symposium entirely dedicated to mantids.

It is now more urgent than ever to generate more mentioned special issue of Zootaxa for the Canary interest on mantids and to have more people work on Islands, most probably a hotspot for small range their and biology because the main threat endemic Mantodea in Europe. for these insects probably is that we still do not know what the threats consist of. The first two assessments (the update of to LC level, and the new CR/PE For these reasons this spring we made an open call to Ameles fasciipennis) have been just published on the all the GSG specialists to collect new records and IUCN Red-List website, but most of the other provide additional specimens to use in genetic and European species is practically unknown by IUCN morphological analyses to solve at least part of their standards. This can easily result in very misleading problematic taxonomy. Particularly welcome and Data Deficient assessments and thus not proof useful important are specimens from the genera Ameles and for conservation actions and to promote further Pseudoyersinia, two small ground mantids with research. brachypterous females and macropterous or brachypterous males. Their taxonomy is extremely Ameles fasciipennis is a very good example for this: problematic because many species are probably not Being a distinct and well defined single individual, it valid or have to be rearranged, because their appeared only once more than a century ago, then description based on few specimens or few probably disappeared. By IUCN standards this is the morphological characters only or their high degree of rarest in the world, by scientific standards it morphological plasticity and the limited knowledge is may be a taxonomical error or a biological deviation, difficult to fit in IUCN criteria. This problematic by conservation standards it is an unmanageable taxonomic state of the art is discussed in detail in the animal. Or, it may really be a species we have lost.

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That is the reason why it is now so important to gain more knowledge about the European Amelinae and to work towards their conservation needs. We are thankful for two grants from SYNTHESYS that allow us to work in the collections at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. Both museums have important collections of European mantids, but we are still searching help from other museums to obtain a detailed database of the mantids distribution. We have started to sequence recently collected material, mainly from the Iberian Peninsula and first results are expected soon.

Contributions from GSG specialists and friends of these insects would be very helpful and welcome.

If you would like to help, please send any collecting information and/or specimens in alcohol 95% to Kai Schütte, Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum Dept. Entomology, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany. Thank you!

Roberto Battiston ([email protected]) & Kai Schütte ([email protected])

Heterochaeta orientalis - the cat . (photo - P. Nasrecki)

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to be declining again. He didn’t find any How grasshoppers help Sphingonotus, but he did find Oedipoda discovering new species in caerulescens, of which he took a few pictures. Looking at the photos at home he discovered a the Netherlands small striped creature near the front leg of the grasshopper. Matty Berg, a springtail specialist, Roy Kleukers was highly surprised. It turned out to be Fasciosminthurus quinquefasciatus, a new species On July 23, 2013 nature photographer André den to the Netherlands. This proves that looking at Ouden was looking for Sphingonotus caerulans grasshoppers can be even more rewarding than near the city of Nijmegen. This species was we thought. The new species has been given the recently discovered in the Netherlands, but seems appropriate common name zebra springtail.

(photo – A. den Ouden)

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Red-List Assessments of South African Katydids

Corinna S. Bazelet, Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, SOUTH AFRICA.

In 2014, 129 species of South African katydids () will have Red-List assessments published by the IUCN. These species represent approximately three-quarters of the katydid species known to occur in South Africa (169 species in total), and the full complement of species which are currently capable of being assessed. Of the unsuitable species, seven are recognized new species which await formal description, and 33 are species or subspecies whose validity requires verification such as members of the problematic genera Ruspolia and , many of which can be distinguished only on the basis of their call, and are in need of taxonomic revision on the basis of this character (Fig. 1). All of these species would be assessed as Data Deficient due to our lack of confidence in the validity of the species and in the quality of available distributional data, so we chose to exclude them from current assessment.

The complete Red-Listing of South African katydids represents the culmination of over a decade of work by Piotr Naskrecki. In the early 2000’s, Piotr began to collect, photograph, and catalogue South African katydids, meticulously storing all information in the MANTIS database which he developed. He opportunistically added records of museum specimens from all major global collections, and in many cases catalogued all existing specimens of a particular species. As a result of Piotr’s painstaking efforts, MANTIS now contains collecting information from 810 geo-referenced South African localities (Fig. 2), in addition to numerous localities from neighbouring countries. Work on the Red-List assessments began in November 2012 when Piotr and I met to write most of the text which will appear in the final assessments.

A Critically Endangered South African katydid species: the Imperiled Green False Shieldback. (photo – P. Naskrecki)

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To assess the species, I first divided them into three categories: (1) species with a distribution which extends beyond southern Africa (n=25) – all of these species emerged as Least Concern (LC); (2) species with a South or southern African distribution and fewer than three known collecting localities (n=23) – all of these species were Data Deficient (DD), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR); and (3) species with a South or southern African distribution with three or more collecting localities (n=81) – these species fell into every Red-List category. I first calculated extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) wherever possible and prepared distribution maps using ArcGIS 9.2 (ESRI 2009) generously provided by the IUCN and ESRI. I then uploaded all data and Piotr’s photographs into SIS and completed all draft assessments. All threatened species (categories VU, EN and CR) were assessed on the basis of their geographic range (criterion B) or as a result of having a very small and restricted population (criterion D2). No species could be assessed on the basis of their population size (criteria A and C) or quantitative analysis (criterion E). At the time of writing, 57 assessments have been reviewed by Axel Hochkirch, Mark Bushell, and Baudewijn Odé and were published in the first Red-List of 2014, and we plan to publish the remaining 72 species later this year in the second Red- List of 2014.

So how are South Africa’s katydids faring? The majority (60% of assessed species) are LC. Many of these species are widely-distributed generalist herbivores which show no signs of decline. Some of these species, such as the Plangias (Plangia compressa and P. graminea) and the Armoured Katydids (Acanthoplus spp.), are even facultative crop pests arguably in greater need of control than of conservation. A significant proportion of species (12%) are DD because the available information is just not enough to estimate their future trends. For example, the enigmatic Cederberg Shieldback (Namaquadectes irroratus) has only been encountered twice, in 1916 and 92 years later in 2008, despite many collecting trips and hours spent attempting to track it down.

Unfortunately, one-third of South Africa’s katydids are of conservation concern, with 28% of species assessed as VU, EN or CR. Among the eleven CR species is the world’s only known Cave Katydid (Cedarbergeniana imperfecta). This species persists in a small number of high elevation caves within the Cederberg Wilderness Area of South Africa's Western Cape Province. Although no research has specifically focused on this species, the highly fragmented nature of the populations and their current distribution at peak elevations is of great concern. In the event of habitat destruction or change in climatic conditions within their caves, this species appears to have few options for survival. Similarly, the Imperiled Grass False Shieldback (Paracilacris periclitatus) was only encountered once in a small patch of remnant indigenous forest slated for cultivation to exotic plantation forestry. At present, it’s unknown whether this species survives or not.

Completing the Red-List assessments will be the first step in an on-going process to draw attention to South Africa’s fascinating and threatened katydid fauna. In the near future, Piotr Naskrecki and I hope to publish the Red-List statuses of South African katydids within a field guide to the group. We also plan to analyse regional trends and centres of endemism of the South African katydids and to compare these findings with those of other insect groups for which similar data is available, such as the dragonflies and butterflies. Our hope is that these findings will contribute towards the understanding of insect diversity trends within South Africa’s three biodiversity hotspots, studies on which have mostly focused on plant diversity: the Cape Floristic Region, Succulent Karoo, and Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. We hope that these efforts will motivate local, young researchers to study this fascinating group of insects, and motivate managers of South Africa’s extensive and valuable protected areas to implement plans to protect threatened katydid species and their habitats. Finally, we hope to promote the perception of insects as important components of biodiversity which should be considered a conservation priority in their own right.

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Figure 1: Pie charts showing distribution of South African katydid species in terms of Red-List threat status. Numbers in parentheses indicate number of species. “Invalid taxa” are species and subspecies which are assumed to be invalid, although additional taxonomic research would be required to verify this assumption. We decided not to assess these taxa at present.

Figure 1: Map of South Africa showing all collecting locations of South African katydids, from Piotr Naskrecki’s MANTIS database. Biomes are listed in legend and colour-coded in order of aridity. It is clear from the map that coastal regions have been more intensively sampled than South Africa’s interior. Three global biodiversity hotspots which fall within South Africa are located along the coast.

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Good news for Acrostira euphorbiae

David Hernández, Heriberto López & Pedro Oromí

La Palma Stick Grasshopper, Acrostira euphorbiae, is Studies carried out during the last decade show that an endemic pamphagid from La Palma (Canary this species has a low genetic diversity and a strong Islands, Spain), where it has a highly reduced habitat preference for some areas with a particular distribution area mostly included in the protected plant composition. The destruction of large areas in natural space of Tamanca, in the southwestern part of the habitat of this grasshopper can cause the the island. Field observations indicate that this species fragmentation and low interconnection among its depends on its only known host plant (Euphorbia populations, leading to further decrease of the lamarckii), the dominating shrub in its habitat, and genetic diversity of the species, producing a that it has a low dispersal ability because of its population bottleneck that can drive to the extinction flightless condition and reduced jumping capacity due of A. euphorbiae. to its heavy body and weak hind limbs compared to other grasshoppers. This makes A. euphorbiae a Since some decades, a large part of the habitat of this species strongly affected by any threat on its habitat. species has been threatened of destruction because In the last decades, the population of this species has of a big touristic project to build some hotels and a had an important decline mainly due to habitat golf course. This has been very controversial because alteration (wildfire, illegal logging of vegetation, and the promoters want to perform it in a protected grazing), that has affected both the grasshopper and natural area, including the habitat of this protected its host plant. As a result of this situation, A. species. If this project were to run, the distribution euphorbiae is included as “Endangered” in both the area of A. euphorbiae would be split by a large field of Spanish National and the Canary Regional official lists green lawn impossible to overpass for the specimens of threatened species, this being the maximum of the resulting two populations. Fortunately, despite category of threat in these catalogues. Furthermore, the big economic interests of businessmen and this species has recently been assessed as Critically politicians, this project has been declared illegal by Endangered in the IUCN Red List. the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands. For the moment, luck is on the side of A. euphorbiae.

Acrostira euphorbiae (photo - P. Oromi) 10

GSG Newshopper - August 2014

A hope for the Crau Plain Grasshopper

Mark Bushell, Axel Hochkirch & Laurent Tatin

Adult male Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica (photo - L. Tatin)

The Crau Plain Grasshopper (Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica) is a large flightless grasshopper endemic to the Crau Steppe area of Southern France, a unique Mediterranean dry steppe habitat. Due to the fact this species is flightless it is restricted to the area and is unable to easily form new populations or colonise new areas. Even though large areas of the Crau Steppe are protected, the grasshopper has recently dramatically declined in the centre of the Steppe for unknown reasons. Therefore, it is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

In the past, the Crau Plain Grasshopper has been strongly threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat resulting from landscape conversion (agriculture and industrial development). While habitat destruction has become less common in large parts of the reserve, it still continues in privately owned land. Little is known about the population ecology of this species, but the populations seem to be very small and are becoming more and more isolated from each other. In fact, the species has completely disappeared from many sites in the last fifty years and a recent survey has shown that only four subpopulations still exist.

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Laurent Tatin pointing out Crau Plain grasshoppers within the enclosure. (photo - A. Hochkirch)

12 One of the in-situ enclosures at the Calisanne site. (photo - A. Hochkirch) GSG Newshopper - August 2014

Eyed lizard (Timon lepidus), one of the several protected species in the Crau Steppe area (photo - A. Hochkirch)

In September 2012 the conservation of the Crau Plain Grasshopper was brought to the forefront after plans of the French Army to build structures on the largest subpopulation were announced. An intervention letter by the IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group and the IUCN French Committee to halt this development was delivered and planning was put in action for the development for a conservation strategy for this threatened grasshopper involving field biologists, the IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Species Conservation Planning Sub-Committee

Preliminary surveys were carried out by field biologists, students and volunteers to evaluate the status and distribution of the known subpopulations, study the habitat preferences and analyse potential threats. In 2013 an in-situ rearing method was tested, with adults reared from nymphs being released into two small fenced reserves and monitored for behaviour and also to see if any other issues relating to their conservation could be seen and potentially addressed.

From the information gathered during these studies, several potential issues relating to the conservation of the Crau Plain grasshopper were highlighted. This led to a workshop being held in Saint-Martin-de-Crau, June 2014 in order to prepare the Strategic Conservation Plan for this species, involving key stakeholders in the area including shepherds, landowners, NGOs, military personnel and governmental staff as well as members from the IUCN and also zoological institutions. At the meeting a representative of the French military base was in

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 attendance and stated that all work on extending the current installation was halted in favour of protecting the grasshopper; a real victory for the species’ survival!. The French Army now fully supports the conservation project and provides access to its domain.

Two field trips to the location of the largest subpopulation of the species took place during the workshop, not only for surveying the population but also to allow participants to see the area of conservation concern and the other species that also rely on the area for their survival. During the field trips we not only saw several individuals of the Crau Plain grasshopper, but also little bustard, little kestrel, pin-tailed sand grouse, eyed lizards and a plethora of invertebrate species.

Attendees at the Conservation Strategy meeting for the Crau Plain Grasshopper (photo - A. Hochkirch)

Over the course of the meeting, a conservation strategy for the Crau Plain Grasshopper was developed, covering three important fields:

 Research: The knowledge on population sizes and dynamics is still scarce. More information on the spatial extent of all subpopulations is needed and a monitoring program needs to be established. The major threats need to be studied; particularly the reason for the disappearance of the grasshopper in large parts of the central Crau needs to be clarified. Potential threats include increased predation by avian predators (such as cattle egret, lesser kestrel, crows), habitat modification (no knowledge on changes in sheep grazing regime exist), climate change (some extreme whether events in the last decade might have triggered the decline), parasitism/disease (nothing is known about the potential

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impact of pathogens on the grasshopper), pesticides (sheep medication might have negative effects as the grasshopper might also feed on sheep faeces).

 Management: One of the targets is to protect the complete remaining steppe habitats in the region and integrate the protection of the species with other conservation plans and policies. Sheep grazing management will be optimized for this species, but first some more knowledge on the effect of sheep grazing on the grasshopper is needed. An ex situ conservation program will also be started in Thoiry Zoo, near Paris to start in 2015 with the aim of learning as much as possible about the life history of the species to further the efforts of ensuring the in-situ population has the best possible chance of surviving. From this it is planned to reintroduce into their historic range and create new subpopulations in the next few years.

 Public Awareness: Several actions to promote the public awareness of this iconic species will be started. These included highlighting the species to the people residing in the area, focusing on its uniqueness and importance within the habitat – this will use social media and also the production of promotional material such as films and posters all about the grasshopper.

These were some of the key points highlighted during the meeting, although these do not cover all of the factors that were discussed as potentially contributing to the decline of this endemic species including climate change, pesticide use, parasitism and changes to grazing regimes. After much deliberation and discussion, action points were created for various parties involved to further the conservation of this enigmatic species. These included highlighting the species to the people residing in the area, focusing on its uniqueness and importance within the habitat – this will use social media and also the production of promotional material such as films and posters all about the grasshopper. Also, monitoring of the habitat to ensure that it does not

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Surveying for the Crau Plain Grasshopper in natural habitat (photo A. Hochkirch) GSG Newshopper - August 2014 further become degraded and also to try and ensure that all areas with populations in fall under the umbrella of the national park network and if possible the habitat is restored to its original state. Thoiry Zoo, near Paris, will also be coordinating an ex-situ rearing project to start in 2015 with the aim of learning as much as possible about the life history of the species to further the efforts of ensuring the in-situ population has the best possible chance of surviving. From this it is planned to reintroduce animals into their historic range and create new subpopulations in the next few years.

Although it is early days in the start of this conservation strategy, the number of people who are enthusiastic about saving this unique grasshopper is great and efforts are well under way to assist in its conservation, with plans to slowly move the nesting boxes of the little kestrel from the Crau area in the next couple of years and also monitoring of temperature and humidity in the area to allow the future captive populations to be kept in near-identical circumstances to their wild counterparts. The meeting itself was of key importance, being one of the first to focus purely on invertebrate conservation strategy; this will hopefully set the trend for future projects and open the floodgates to invertebrate conservation worldwide.

Adult female Crau Plain Grasshopper (photo - A. Hochkirch)

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New Orthoptera-app and wiki-website

Florin Rutschmann, Matthias Riesen & Christian Roesti

In May 2014, the Orthoptera identification app was published on the iTunes Store and the Orthoptera-wiki went online on the platform Orthoptera.ch. Both, the app and the wiki contain all 119 taxa of Switzerland and Germany. The comprehensive species portraits include several sections: morphological descriptions, songs, spatial distribution, phenology and life history, habitat, endangerment and list similar species. More than 3,700 photos, songs and drawings are added to the species portraits illustrating the variability, the behavior or the nymph stage.

The main component of the app is a simple and intuitive multi-criteria determination key allowing the combination of several characteristics and omitting any strict sequence as it is common in dichotomous keys. Besides morphological traits the list of potential species can be reduced by the integration of location data using the built-in GPS of the smart phone. Already the selection of three or four criteria leads to a significant reduction in the number of the potential species, which can be further reduced by comparing the songs.

The main target audience of the determination module are interested laymen. Accordingly we tried to keep the multi-criteria key as simple and clear as possible. So, only few details on ovipositor or cercus are included, which should still be identifiable without any additives. Consequently, it might be possible that not every species can be classified directly. Nonetheless, when facing a more challenging determination one can still compare songs and pictures in the detail gallery to narrow it further down. Moreover, the app can be used to record observations directly in the field, which can later be sent to the database of Observation.org or Webfauna.ch. There, all observations can be edited and downloaded.

At the moment the app is only available on iOS systems with a planned release of an Android version later this year. Furthermore, all the species portraits are freely accessible on Orthoptera.ch.

Species texts exist only in German. However the determination key is available in English, French and Italian. Together with the usage of primarily scientific names this allows for navigation and access to pictures, songs and drawings predominantly independent of German language knowledge.

First experiences showed that an iPad mini is the optimal device for the field, being the perfect tradeoff between size and convenience. http://www.orthoptera.ch/arten http://www.orthoptera.ch/info-app-wiki/orthoptera-app

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A selection of screenshots from the Orthoptera-app

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Searching for grasshoppers and crickets in Paradise

Axel Hochkirch

The Seychelles Predatory Bush- (Seselphisis visenda) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (photo – A. Hochkirch)

The Seychelles are well known as a paradise for tourists with beautiful beaches and an amazing diversity of fishes, corals and other marine organisms. However, the larger granitic islands also maintain cloud forests, which are full of endemic plants and insects, which receive less attention. In fact, our knowledge on the ecology of tropical insects is generally scarce. We even have limited information on species numbers and their distributions. This makes assessments of the conservation status for the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM rather difficult. Although the IUCN Red List criteria allow to infer the conservation status also from indirect data, such as habitat trends, it is crucial to obtain more information on the habitat requirements of threatened species in order to allow for their conservation.

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Recently, the conservation status of the endemic Orthoptera of the Seychelles has been assessed for the IUCN Red List by Justin Gerlach, showing that ca. 70% of the endemic species are threatened with extinction. These Red List assessments were mainly based on the small range sizes and continuing deterioration of their habitats due to the spread of invasive species. Although the assumption that invasive species negatively affect native insects might well be true, it has not yet been tested for the threatened grasshoppers, crickets and bush- crickets of the Seychelles. Without such knowledge, it remains difficult to develop conservation management plans for these insects.

Therefore, a research project was started in 2013 with the aim to obtain knowledge on the habitat preferences of Orthoptera and to rediscover the Seychelles Flightless Groundhopper (Procytettix fusiformis) – a species, which has not been found since its description in 1909 – as well as the Seychelles Crested Groundhopper (Coptotiggia cristata) – a species, which is only known from one locality. The project was was conducted in cooperation with the Island Conservation Society of the Seychelles and financially supported financially supported by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the German Academic Exchange Service.

Two students (Svenja Krone and Sabrina Legner) visited Mahé (the largest island of the Seychelles) from July to August 2013 to perform the necessary field work. Although the two Groundhopper species could not be rediscovered, a couple of other threatened Orthoptera species were recorded, most of which were associated with native palms. For these species, we were able to obtain data on their habitat preferences. The most common species was the Seychelles Palm Cricket (Metioche bolivari). This tiny cricket species is mainly found at higher elevations, where it occurs on the underside of larger palm leaves. The species is usually found in small aggregations, suggesting that it is not territorial. By contrast, the Seychelles Short-Winged Cricket (Seychellesia longicercata) was found across a broader range of altitudes. It mainly occurs in habitats with a lower cover of grasses and a higher cover of leaf litter and open rocks. Male individuals are found singly in folded palm leaves and seem to be territorial, but they occasionally can be found also on other tree species and on rocks. Currently, invasive plants, such as Clidemia hirta and Cinnamomum verum, do not seem to have negative effects on these species. Based upon the results of this study, it will be possible to start habitat restoration measures to benefit the populations of these species.

Sabrina Legner (l) and Svenja Krone (r) in the cloud forest of Mahé (photo – A. Hochkirch)

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In 2014, we will continue our studies on the distribution and ecology of threatened Orthoptera of the Seychelles. Two students (Lucy Neumann and Dominik Schwab) will stay on Mahé and St. Anne for two months to search for threatened Orthoptera. We will make another trial to rediscover the rare groundhopper species, but we will also start bioacoustic analyses of the songs of some crickets and bush-crickets, such as the Seychelles Predatory Bush-Cricket (Seselphisis visenda). The song recordings will help to develop simpler

The Seychelles Palm Cricket (Metioche bolivari) prefers large palm leaves at high altitudes of Mahé (photo – A. Hochkirch)

The palm grasshopper (Enoplotettix gardineri) feeds exclusively on palm leaves. It is endemic to the Seychelles and listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. (photo – A. Hochkirch)

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 monitoring methods, which can also be applied by local rangers without any special knowledge on Orthoptera.

The Seychelles Short-Winged Cricket (Seychellesia longicercata) is a territorial cricket species, which is often found in folded palm-leaves. (photo – A. Hochkirch)

Seychelles Flat-Backed Groundhopper (Amphinotus nymphula) is a small elusive grasshopper species which occurs in the leaf litter of the cloud forests on Mahé. (photo – A. Hochkirch)

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A large threatened weta is saved from extinction in New Zealand

Corinne Watts, Landcare Research, Hamilton, New Zealand

The Mercury Islands Tusked Weta (Motuweta isolata) survived only on 13 ha Middle Island, a mammal-free island in the Mercury Group located off the North Island of New Zealand. During the 1990s, the Mercury Island Tusked Weta population on Middle Island declined dramatically and to minimise the threat of extinction it was evident that new populations should be established on neighbouring islands from which mammals had been removed. The weta population on Middle Island was not large enough to enable direct translocations so captive rearing was necessary. Success in developing a captive rearing method from only one male and two females An adult male Mercury Islands tusked weta in his burrow. Note his large which was crucial in making the overlapping tusks. (photo – D. Thornburrow) translocations possible.

Between 2000 and 2009, 567 individuals were No tusked weta have been found on Middle Island translocated to six nearby mammal-free islands. In despite monitoring between 2009 and 2012, addition to reducing the risk of extinction of the suggesting this species is likely to be locally extinct. tusked weta, these translocations contributed to If so, these translocations have resulted in a the restoration of the other islands. The earliest significant conservation success outcome. translocations in 2000 and 2001 were to nearby Double and Red Mercury Islands where their Further reading: establishment was confirmed in 2009. The population on Red Mercury expanded outwards Stringer I, Watts C, Thornburrow D, Chappell R, from the release sites by 100–150 m each year and Price R. 2014. Saved from extinction? they are now estimated to be present over more Establishment and dispersal of Mercury Islands than half the island. Later translocations to four tusked weta, Motuweta isolata, following other nearby islands have also been successful but translocation onto mammal-free islands. Journal of weta remain within 100 m of the release sites. Insect Conservation [early view online].

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841- 014-9631- y?sa_campaign=email/event/articleAuthor/onlineF irst

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Adult Mercury Islands tusked weta footprints on a tracking card from Koripuki Island, 2011.

Presence of adult Mercury Islands tusked weta footprints in tracking tunnels on Red Mercury Island in 2009 and 2012. Closed symbols indicate the presence of adult Mercury Islands tusked weta; dark grey symbols indicate probable Mercury Islands tusked weta; and open symbols, no Mercury Islands tusked weta tracked. Open stars are the location of a release site.

Middle Island - the original home of Mercury Islands tusked weta. Its cliffs make it very hard to land on. (photo – D. Thornburrow)

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Male tusked weta being held for examination.

Male tusked weat on the forest floor (l) and fitted with a radio-transmitter (r) 25

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The conservation of the Lord Howe Island stick insect and an update on the ex-situ programme

Rohan Cleave Invertebrate Keeper Melbourne Zoo, Zoos Victoria, Elliott Avenue, Parkville, Vic, 3052, Australia Telephone: + 61 3 9285 9300, fax: + 61 3 9285 9350 email: [email protected]

Lord Howe Island was formed over 7 million years ago. The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis), also known as a tree lobster or land lobster, was once abundant on Lord Howe Island, approximately 700km off the coast of eastern Australia. It was considered extinct by the 1930s, following the accidental introduction of Black Rats (Rattus rattus) in 1918 when the supply ship Makambo ran aground near Ned’s Beach. In 2001, a small colony of Lord Howe Island Stick Insects was rediscovered on Balls Pyramid, a rocky outcrop 23km off Lord Howe Island. The species is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

In February 2001 a five-member scientific team assembled by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service landed on Balls Pyramid and rediscovered a very small population, consisting of only three stick insects. Next came the significant challenge of securing a protected population to save them from imminent risk of extinction.

On 14th February 2003, another team was assembled with the task of collecting four adult Lord Howe Island Stick Insects from Balls Pyramid. One pair was sent to a private Entomologist in Balls Pyramid – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, New South Wales. This pair unfortunately did not survive long Melbourne Zoo but the female did produce eggs. The other pair was destined for Melbourne Zoos, Invertebrate Department in Victoria. Two days later’, on the 16th February 2003, the Zoo’s Invertebrate team received a pair of one of the rarest invertebrate species in the world. The pair was affectionately known as ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ to staff, who knew they had one chance to establish a long term captive breeding program for the species. At the beginning of the program almost nothing was known of the biology and ecology of the once abundant species.

The first Zoo-bred offspring demonstrated amazing timing by emerging/hatching on 7/9/2003 (Australia’s Threatened Species Day). Prior to this, nobody had seen a newly hatched nymph for many decades. From 7/9/2003 to 31/12/2013 just over 11,000 nymphs have successfully hatched as part of the breeding program at Melbourne Zoo. Lord Howe Island Stick Insect eggs – Ongoing management of the population and eggs is critical for the copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, Melbourne Zoo program to continue to thrive.

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There have been many challenges to the captive management of the species since they arrived at Melbourne Zoo more than ten years ago. Our knowledge base has expanded rapidly as we developed increasingly effective animal husbandry techniques. There has been worldwide interest in our work with this species.

At any one time we house around 500 Lord Howe Island Stick Insects in different quarantined purpose-built glasshouses and have thousands of eggs incubating. Additional facilities to house the increasing numbers of this species and meet their specific requirements have been constructed over the years. We recently moved into a glasshouse designed specifically to meet their requirements. Maintaining correct temperature ranges and high humidity are key factors to getting this species to adulthood.

Adulthood is achieved at around six months of age, with captive Hatching nymph – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, lifespan around 12 - 18 months; females can lay up to 300 eggs in Melbourne Zoo their lifetime. Adult females are larger and heavier than males measuring up to 15cm in length and weighing up to 25 grams. A sample of eggs laid each week are measured and weighed in weekly batches and will then be incubated in Vermiculite for between six to nine months prior to hatching. We measure and record the length of each nymph that hatches at Melbourne Zoo. In 2014 the Melbourne Zoo team is breeding our 11th generation. This species can also reproduce parthenogenically: we have conducted significant research into this field with three successive generations hatched, with all offspring being female.

Newly hatched nymph of fingertip – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, Melbourne Zoo

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A number of scientific studies have been undertaken over the past 10 years, including investigating mate selection. Diet is another important aspect of animal husbandry and research into this field is ongoing. The invertebrate Department has expanded this work with investigations of endemic plant species from Lord Howe Island both within Zoo grounds and on Lord Howe Island in 2013. The full range of plants they fed on prior to their extirpation from Lord Howe Island is still unknown, but it is important for us to continue investigations to determine what plants are most nutritious and beneficial for captive husbandry. Host plant preference trials are conducted with both nymphs and adults. All of this adds to the data base of important information on the species.

The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect is a flagship species in Zoos Victoria’s “Fighting Extinction” campaign. In 2012 the Australian Federal and New South Wales State Governments announced funding of AUS $9.2 million to eradicate black rats and house mice from Lord Howe Island. Community involvement is ongoing to determine the best path forward to guarantee success in restoring the natural ecosystem of one of Adult female – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, Melbourne the world’s most beautiful heritage sites. Zoo “Return of the Phasmid” was an educational program conceived by the Zoo’s Invertebrate and Education staff to be a world first learning program to introduce an endangered species into 25 classrooms. This educational program helped raise awareness of the plight of this critically endangered species.

Since opening an exhibit to the public for this species in 2008, interpretation around the display area has been redeveloped with inspiring graphics. The Zoo retail shop closest to the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect display is ‘bug’ themed and stocks Lord Howe Island Stick Insect themed retail items. There is also a donation point to encourage visitors to contribute to the work Adult male - copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, that is being done with this species at the Zoo. Melbourne Zoo

In 2007, Melbourne Zoo returned 20 Lord Howe Island Stick Insect to a rodent proof enclosure on Lord Howe Island. The offspring of those original descendants continue to be managed by Lord Howe Island Board staff. Two exhibits are now on display at the Lord Howe Island Museum, with separate nymph and adult displays showing the differences from early stages to adult in this species. These displays will help educate visitors and highlight conservation efforts to save one of Lord Howe Island's rarest species. A world first permanent enclosure is now up and running in the Lord Howe Island

Young – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, Melbourne Zoo 28

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Central School for students and staff to maintain and research the species in the classroom.

We continue to work closely with Lord Howe Island Board staff and scientists from the New South Wales government on this recovery program. One day we hope to see this species back in its natural environment on Lord Howe Island.

With special thanks to past and current Invertebrate team members at Melbourne Zoo for their significant contributions over this journey to save one of the world’s most endangered species. Patrick Honan, Kate Pearce, Robert Anderson, Norman Dowsett, Zoe Marston and Sarah Silcocks.

Lord Howe Island –Mt Lidgbird – 777m and Mt Gower – 875m in background – copyright/credit Rohan Cleave, Melbourne Zoo

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The discovery of the Mexican grasshopper Liladownsia fraile

Paolo Fontana & Ricardo Mariño-Pérez (edit by M. Bushell)

Liladownsia fraile adult male (photo – P. Fontana)

Mexico is an extraordinary country. There you can find many things but, more interestingly, at the end you can also find things that you were not looking for. Nature, history, people, food, ancient and modern life, handicraft, art, science, music, drinks, peace, passion, adventure, rest, danger, religion, friendship… all of this is merged in a full colour masterpiece, such as Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel ceiling or an Eduardo Ribera fresco. We had the great fortune of not only travelling in Mexico on vacation, but also to study the nature of the country and to discover the essence of it. The world is so complex, intricate and interconnected that studying even one natural aspect of a country such as Mexico you end up having an overall image that is very sharp, bright and charming. Mexico, in short, is a mega-diverse country, with all of its diversity stemming from its natural biodiversity. The biodiversity of a place in turn influences the cultural diversity of the people who inhabit it; the variety of plants and animal species, climates, raw materials, scenarios and horizons of Mexico has shaped a constellation of cultures, languages and traditions that, even after centuries of human history and cultural influences, are still alive and vibrant. If we pay attention to the colour of the flowers, birds, reptiles and insects of Mexico, we understand that the vitality of the churches of Puebla, or the splendour of the costumes of the state of Oaxaca are a direct link between biodiversity and human culture. The wilderness is not only a pleasant place for relaxation or adventure, but it also reminds us that to preserve the biodiversity of our planet does not mean we should abstain from our atavistic pleasure to experience nature. Nature has shaped and shapes us, gave us the past and gives us a future because we are nature and this became tangible at every step, at every stop, travelling in Mexico.

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Throughout the visit we travelled thousands of miles, sometimes together and sometimes solo. We travelled between towns and villages, ranging from the seashores to the peaks of high mountains, visiting every habitat we could from deserts to tropical forest, along the banks of rivers to dry, stony areas. It wasn’t all plain-sailing however, encountering “chiggers”, mosquitoes and even fields with many rattlesnakes! Over the course of the trip we met many people from all walks of life, all curious about our research and willing to help or give advice where they could. We did a great deal of work on Mexican insects, focusing especially on grasshoppers, bush crickets and crickets, praying mantids and stick insects. Our research into the insects of Mexico gave us new challenges every day Paolo Fontana with Liladownsia friale and has been crowned by the successes of many discoveries and even rediscoveries; the biodiversity of Mexico is widely known, but equally there remains much to discover. During our field expeditions we have found many new species and several new genera and during the study of our collected material and comparing it with that found in the collections, we have found many more.

31 Liladownsia fraile habitat (photo – P. Fontana) GSG Newshopper - August 2014

Liladownsia fraile male nymph (photo – P. Fontana)

The discovery of a new species is always done by accident, but sometimes the circumstances of a new discovery are really unusual if not ridiculous. A “pit-stop”, possibly to fulfil a physiological need, can result in a significant event for the expedition. Secluded behind a bush, you shout to your companions to grab the net, the camera, the bottles – “hurry, it's not a joke, move!” Or when in the evening, tired from such a hectic and challenging day that all you can think of is a plate of frijoles and tortillas, you see a small area that seems to be unconsciously and instinctively inviting you to take a look… and you stop abruptly the car, parking it in a probably not so orthodox way and after a few moments, you realize that the real work of the day begins right there, where you search for, collect and photograph until the last ray of light allows it.

Very often new species, such as children to their parents, are beautiful and fascinating only or primarily for those who have made the discovery. The skilled entomologist understands the uniqueness of a population or a single individual perhaps, from small details; a tinge of colour, a protuberance more or less pronounced, or maybe a quick review with a simple lens of the male genitalia, and here's a new species which appears to be identical to another already known. For those who work in this field, for they who have a passion for natural science and try to give a contribution, no matter how small, to the unveiling of biodiversity the discovery of a new species, even based on the identification of characters imperceptible to non-specialists, is always a source of great joy and pride. The paper of the newly described taxa makes the taxonomist as proud as a soldier of

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 the medals pinned on his chest or indeed, as the list of love conquests of Don Juan (Madamina, il catalogo è questo delle belle che amò il padron mio….) because the taxonomy could best be compared to a loving rather than military conquest!

After all of these ramblings arising from our most vivid experiences, our article can only arrive at one of our most beautiful and beloved discoveries; the finding, the study and description of the grasshopper which we gave the scientific name of Liladownsia fraile. We found this species of grasshopper truly unique, both for its vibrant coloration and also for other ecological and biogeographical characteristics during an expedition in Mexico organized by the University of Central Florida (UCF), the Fondazione Edmund Mach (Centro Trasferimento Tecnologico) and the World Biodiversity Association (WBA onlus) in December 2011. The species was found in a mountainous area in the southern part of the Sierra Madre del Sur, in the state of Oaxaca, and close to the village of San José del Pacífico. The first site where the species was collected was a small clearing at the roadside, characterized by an intense flowering of several herbaceous plants, which fortunately was also one of the few places where you could park a car. The outcome of this stage of the expedition seemed likely to be poor, having regard to the winter season and the disappointing results of earlier stages in similar areas, until Paolo Fontana (FEM-CTT and WBA), who led the expedition which was

33 Liladownsia fraile nymph (photo – P. Fontana) GSG Newshopper - August 2014

Adult female Liladownsia fraile (photo – P. Fontana) attended by Ricardo Mariño-Pérez and Derek A. Woller (PhD Candidates at UFC) and Paola Tirello (University of Padova and WBA) found a juvenile specimen of grasshopper that appeared immediately as something extremely interesting and new. We decided to spend the rest of the evening in the area and after some minutes we finally found one adult, then another and so on. Then night came and we had to sadly finish. The next day we returned early in the morning and we found even more adults.

The study of the collected material has revealed to be a new species and a new of , a group of grasshoppers that in Mexico counts a large number of genera and many species are endemic. The research on this new grasshopper were also carried out on a molecular basis by Dr. Hojun Song (UFC) and his collaborators, allowing us to ensure its uniqueness but also its affinity in the context of other kinds of Melanoplinae from Mexico and from the Americas in general. A new field expedition took place in December 2013, allowing us to find new material and to verify the distribution of the new species which was found always just on the outskirts of San José del Pacifico, between 1200 and 1600 m above sea level. This new species lives in a region characterized by extensive forests of oak and pine, and seems to feed on grasses, mainly Lamiaceae, and in particular of Salvia elegans the so-called Pineapple sage, a plant native to the mountainous regions of Mexico. The relevance of this new species comes from its restricted geographical

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 distribution and its ecological needs which see it as a typical inhabitant of forests of oaks and pines areas. Furthermore the new species seems to be able to feed on plants largely characterized by the presence of essential oils that possibly could lend the grasshopper a kind of chemical protection that would explain the vivid coloration; vivid coloration is typically used by insects to signal to predators some form of chemical defence. Another important aspect of this new species comes from its phylogenetic position, in fact, the study of its DNA is allowing us to better understand the relationships between different kinds of grasshoppers in Mexico and therefore the relevant mechanisms of speciation. Molecular taxonomic study, like the ecological, phenological and geografical data of this new genus and new species has now been published in an international journal, Zootaxa (Woller et al., 2014).

The intrepid explorers: (l-r) Paola Tirello, Paolo Fontana, Ricardo Marino Perez and Derek A. Woller

The new genus, which has been assigned the scientific name of Liladownsia n. gen. was dedicated to Mexican singer Ana Lila Downs Sánchez, in art Lila Downs, who also hails from the state of Oaxaca. Lila Downs is an international artist, having won a Grammy award amongst other such accolades, and takes to stages all around the world the many indigenous languages of Mexico such the Mixtec and Zapotec and uses traditional costumes in her performances. She also has great sensitivity towards different social issues, which she portrays most often through images drawn from nature and ancient traditions of her land, such as in the song "Árbol de la vida". The tribute to this great artist is also a tribute to the nature and culture of Mexico, both extraordinary and characterized by great diversity, richness and originality. The new species has been given the scientific name of fraile, so the full name is Liladownsia fraile Fontana et al., 2014. "Fraile" is Spanish for “friar”, and this is the common name that the inhabitants of the area of San José del Pacífico give to this insect, which was until now unknown to science but certainly not to the inhabitants of the region in which it lives. Another common name used locally is "Chapulín de Capucho" meaning “grasshopper with a hood”. Liladownsia fraile is in fact characterized by a kind of hump which may just seem like a monk's hood. In

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 addition to common names, talking to the locals, it was possible to have a lot of important information on the biology of this new species.

Since the area of San José del Pacífico is characterized by intense tourism but also unfortunately deforestation in order to clear the field for crops and herds of cattle and sheep. The natural environment in which Liladownsia fraile lives is seriously threatened and that's why we proceeded immediately to assessing this new species for the Red List produced by the IUCN. The original geographical distribution of Liladownsia fraile is already fairly restricted and with human pressure is becoming smaller and smaller.

The discovery, study and description of this species is not only an example of how biodiversity is still only partially known but also of how, during scientific expeditions, respect for and dialogue with local people is essential to achieve important scientific goals and for all aspects related to nature conservation. Also it is imperative to let the general audience know about the discovery of new species. Just as an example, after the news of this discovery was covered in social media such as Facebook and Twitter, people started to upload pictures and videos of Liladownsia fraile. This new information provides us new localities (close to San José del Pacífico) which we haven’t visited yet. Also, in some pictures additional information is provided such as a new colour form for the male. Without a question, new technologies such social media are not only telling people in which place you are eating or what movie are you watching but also are helping to improve the assessment of endangered species.

As humans, we take care of what we love, and we love only what we know. The IUCN Red List is the perfect way of letting people know about this grasshopper and by consequence people will begin to take care of species such as Liladownsia fraile.

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Type locality habitat of Liladownsia fraile. (photo – P. Fontana) GSG Newshopper - August 2014

Rarity and ordinariness in bush crickets: status quo versus data accumulation Dragan P. Chobanov

Currently, anthropogenic pressure is resulting in a major biodiversity crisis, dominated not only by the commonly observed loss of species with restricted distributions but also by the underestimated extinction of common species, which means that there is a growing need to identify habitat and diversity loss and fragmentation, properly estimate species/populations range and population trends and adequately assess populations.

Our knowledge on the biodiversity and species distribution and abundance is far from being satisfactory. There is a growing evidence of a significant amount of phenotypically cryptic species in all major taxa, which additionally complicates the situation. On the other hand, it has been suggested that significant amount of the present-day biodiversity constitutes synonymic taxa. In this connection, understanding distribution of poorly known taxa is an additional challenge. Therefore, biodiversity and habitat assessment and protection are closely linked. Accumulation of data may result in a changed understanding on species vulnerability and threatened status, as a result not only of updated information on their distribution and habitat preferences, but also on their taxonomy and systematics.

Hereinafter I will present three interesting unpublished cases. They further show the usefulness of using as many as possible methods for detecting species in nature.

Case I: Underground life

When I was a young boy, about 14-15 years old, I collected a small frumpish cricket and pinned it on a fat sewing pin. Then, I forgot it. Much later, when I was identifying extensive material for my PhD thesis, I met the specimen again and I classified it as a nymph of Discoptila buresi Mařan, 1958, presently in the genus Ovaliptila – small crickets with highly reduced wings, in males scale-like and covering pit-glands on their thorax, probably serving as female-attractors. But where I have collected this insect? Unfortunately I did not make a note but at that time I was collecting mostly in my summer refuge – my village in North-eastern Bulgaria…

These crickets are poorly known all over their range in the Eastern Mediterranean, frequently known by a single specimen in a museum collection. They all seem to inhabit soil crevices, leaf litter and caves, partly showing themselves at night to feed – any kind of rotting organic matter.

Being known by two type specimens, collected at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the species revealed itself when we started using pitfall soil traps. Over the years, significant material (say, 70 specimens) was captured in our collecting jars in South-eastern Bulgaria. But where I collected my first specimen…?

Time passed and after some years I started visiting my "childhood refuge" again. And once, visiting the cellar in the night, I saw them – tens of individuals looking for dinner! So, I trapped some food remains and collected specimens that I easily kept for two generations in captivity.

Later on, the species has been regarded typus generis, distributed from Bulgaria to Crimea, and though up to the 2000s only two specimens were known to the science, it seems that at least along the Black Sea coast and the big rivers in East Bulgaria, the species is widespread, though secretly living. However, it keeps hidden during daytime and even at night you cannot find it easy unless you use special tools for this aim (like traps) or visit humid caves, burrows or appropriate cellars.

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Pholidoptera brevipes, first photo of living specimen! (photo D. Chobanov)

Case II: The "Great escape"

Once, during studying a large amount of non-breeding white storks' pellets for a colleague-ornithologist, I found a subdominant mandible type that did not match any suggestions I made. It was obviously similar to the Frivaldsky's bushcricket (Pholidoptera frivaldskyi (Herman, 1871)), typical for the Carpathians and the North- Balkan Mountains. Yet, there was a significant difference and further, the Frivaldsky's bushcricket does not occur in the region the storks have collected their prey (the South Black Sea coast of Bulgaria). Finally, I decided to compare it to a single specimen I possessed from the weakly known Pholidoptera brevipes. And, here it is!

In 1939 Ramme described a strange bush cricket from Bulgaria, named after its remarkably short for the genus legs – Pholidoptera brevipes. The holotype is kept at the Naturkunde Museum in Berlin and until recently only three specimens were known, all of them collected from Southeastern Bulgaria. In 2006 it has been recorded also from North-western Anatolia (Turkey) by Mustafa Ünal, though its habitat and range, especially in Europe, remained a mystery.

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So, I was amazed that a "rare" species, that might have been considered even 'Critically Endangered' based on our current knowledge, was so abundant in the food of the common White stork (minimum of 1668 individuals of a total of 28947 animal remains; 54.4% occurrence in pellets). It has obviously occurred in numbers though the reason why we do not meet this species in the field was obscure…

The latter discovery happened in the winter of 2011/2012 and accurately next summer we met the species in its environment! During the Natura 2000 assessments in 2011/2012 we visited a lot of spots all over Bulgaria; the modest team of orthopterists involving two persons at a time spent about 140 days and nights under open sky. Thus, being lucky, we visited the Southeastern Bulgaria lowlands in the early summer, when the humid spring vegetation was about to be replaced by the summer xerophyte grass and scrub. First I met the species, obviously at the border of its range, by an accidental checking a "strange" song of Decticus verrucivorus. Literally smashing the grass, we finally found a small olive-brown animal that we did not expect. It was so nice for me to be able to record the song and collect material for future experiments of Pholidoptera brevipes! A few days later we started to hear its song all over, around the scrub, meadows and along springs in Strandzha Mountains at the border with Turkey. Yet, the animal was so cautious, that I was able to catch, say, five per cent of the males I heard (females were collected by accident, being located close to the singing male). They were disappearing immediately after hearing me within the bush, just dropping from their branch, jumping a while in the grass, and then, suddenly, becoming quiescent touching the ground.

Thus, the lucky coincidence of timing, sound recognition and collecting effort proved this species is not to be regarded vulnerable as it even occurs within recently abandoned fields.

Case III: Shifting habitat

I joined the Natura 2000 assessments in Bulgaria in 2010, being responsible for only two grasshopper species fitting Annex II of the European Commission’s Habitats Directive. One of them, Paracaloptenus caloptenoides, seemed really common in Bulgaria according to literature data and available material. Yet, after first range evaluations, a strange discrepancy appeared between the altitudinal preferences of populations from different parts of the country. Having about 60 localities at the beginning, I could not properly evaluate the possible difference. Then, spending many days in the field and walking a couple of thousands kilometres by foot, we started to realize that the "discrepancy" is real and actually reflects native ecological features of populations. Already at the spot, we felt that the populations of the species are ecologically partitioned in three – 1) a "Western form",

Paracaloptenus caloptenoides, a female. (photo D. Chobanov)

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 strictly keeping at poor-vegetation limestone ground in the mountain belt of West Bulgaria (usually over 800 m alt.), having unpredictable patchy distribution; 2) an "Eastern form", usually occurring in high numbers in the semi-dry degraded oak-associations in Southeast Bulgaria, keeping within strict climatic belt up to 700-800 m alt.; 3) a small "North-eastern population", at the border with Romania (and further penetrating Romanian Dobrogea up to the Danube delta), occurring in continental semi-dry steppes. Altogether we sampled 554 positive localities over the country. Then, we modelled the species distribution using the Maxent software based on different environmental variables. "Best" models, fitting ecologically different populations, resulted by separate evaluating of sampling points by "ecological regions" and by testing different sets of variables. For example, mean annual temperature, altitude and anisotropic heating made main contribution to the model of the "Western form"; mean annual temperature, forest type and mean annual precipitation contributed for the "Eastern form" habitat model; mean annual precipitation prevailed in the model of the steppic "North-eastern form".

Yet, further research is necessary for evaluating the status of these "forms" but, in any case, presumed threatened status changed dramatically after this study. Though, the "Eastern form" occurs in remarkable numbers in appropriate climate, even within degraded habitats, the other two forms seem significantly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and thus deserving special conservation attention.

Conclusion We are still far from satisfactory knowledge not only about the total biodiversity and its loss levels but even about our neighbours living in the grass across the street in the so called "best studied" Europe. Thus, living in an imminent danger of irreversible changing of our Planet, we should pay more attention on the surrounding environment, find beauty in nature and living creatures, and think… could we survive without all this variety?

Maxent modelling of three forms of Paracaloptenus caloptenoides in Bulgaria; “Western” (top),” North- eastern” (middle) and “Eastern“ (bottom)

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Recent Paper Abstracts

Mark Bushell Assistant Curator of Invertebrates, Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HA, UK.

A revision of Apteromantis (Mantodea: , Amelinae): A comprehensive approach to manage old taxonomic and conservation problems

Roberto Battiston1, 4, Joaquín Ortego2, José R. Correas3 & Pedro J. Cordero2 1 Musei Civici di Valstagna, via Garibaldi, 27 - 36020, Valstagna, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Grupo de Investigación de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos -IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain 3 C/ Montenebros I, nº 7, 28400 Collado Villalba, Madrid, Spain 4 Corresponding author

The genus Apteromantis Werner, 1931 comprises two species of wingless mantids, the Iberian A. aptera (Fuente, 1894) and the North African A. bolivari (Werner, 1929). Although A. aptera and A. bolivari have been traditionally considered as separate and valid species, their external appearance is quite similar and no comprehensive taxonomic study has analysed their morphological and genetic characteristics. This taxonomic uncertainty has important implications for conservation because A. aptera is considered an Iberian endemic and the only praying mantis protected by international laws. In this study, we apply a comprehensive approach, including quantitative morphological and molecular analyses, to shed new light on the taxonomic and conservation status of the genus Apteromantis and the putative species. We have found that the Iberian and North African specimens analysed herein significantly differ in female head shape, male genitalia morphology and several other traits related to body size. Molecular data suggest the presence of two main lineages, with sequence divergence rates of approximately 4%, which are within the range reported for other well defined insect species. Overall, this study supports that A. aptera and A. bolivari are valid species despite their ecological and morphological similarity and highlights the importance of comprehensive approaches to resolve old taxonomic and conservation problems.

Edge effect of a pine plantation reduces dry grassland invertebrate species richness

G. Bieringer, K. P. Zulka, N. Milasowszky, N. Sauberer

Natural steppes in European agricultural landscapes are characterized by high biotic richness but are subject to fragmentation and associated edge effects. Edge effects on species richness were investigated at an ecotone from a pine plantation to a short-grass steppe in Eastern Austria for eleven invertebrate taxa differentiated into habitat guilds based on known live-history strategies of individual species (grassland species, forest species, generalist species), including Red-Listed and non-threatened grassland species. The large size of the studied grassland site provided an opportunity to test edge effects in the absence of confounding factors and to a gradient length of 208 m into the grassland habitat along a clear-cut border to a pine plantation. All sampling was done by pitfall trapping. Species richness of habitat guilds, but not total richness, was effectively explained by biotic variables reflecting the influence of shading in particular (i.e. soil temperature sums). Total species richness showed a bimodal response pattern, with increases towards the habitat edge and interior

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 grassland habitat. Habitat guilds showed diverging responses to distances from the edge, but no saturation in species richness, with a continuum of edge effects across the entire distance of the grassland samples. Our findings contrast those of previous investigations based on samples taken from smaller patches and across shorter distances from the edge. Methodological and conservation implications are discussed.

The katydid that was: the tananá, stridulation, Henry Walter Bates and Charles Darwin

Claudio J. Bidau Parana´ y Los Claveles, 3304 Garupa´, Misiones, Argentina (e-mail: [email protected]).

The Amazonian bush-cricket or katydid, Thliboscelus hypericifolius (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae), called tanana´ by the natives was reported to have a song so beautiful that they were kept in cages for the pleasure of listening to the melodious sound. The interchange of letters between Henry Walter Bates and Charles Darwin regarding the tanana´ and the issue of stridulation in Orthoptera indicates how this mysterious insect, which seems to be very rare, contributed to the theory of sexual selection developed by Darwin.

Grasshopper assemblage response to surface rockiness in Afro-montane grasslands

Casparus J. Crous, Michael J. Samways and James S. Pryke Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa

1. Grasshoppers are often an important functional component of ecosystems, and many species show high levels of endemism.

2. Evidence exists that percentage surface rock cover within a landscape can predict diversity of grasshopper species. Nevertheless, the reason why grasshopper species are responding to rocky landscapes has not been established.

3. Here, we explore whether grasshoppers are responding to physical rockiness per se, or rather to specific correlates of higher surface rock exposure within a landscape. We also determine if this response varies between grasshopper taxonomic groups.

4. We sampled grasshoppers in Afro-montane grasslands in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and recorded 10 environmental variables. We explored the influence of these variables on grasshopper community composition and grasshopper family composition. We also determined the vegetation characteristics, which significantly correlate with percentage surface rock cover in this landscape (geophyte richness, perennial grass richness and vegetation density), and then measured the similarity of species composition across these correlates.

5. Overall, grasshopper assemblage composition, as well as familial composition, responded strongly to an elevation gradient, and not to the correlates of surface rock cover. In turn, the higher species richness in such areas is more likely a function of the significant vegetation correlates of higher surface rock cover.

6. Across taxonomic groups, there are specialist species within each group which are associated with environmental conditions related to surface rockiness through its underlying correlates. Rock exposure across this grassland landscape is therefore an important contributor to grasshopper dispersion patterns, and has important implications for conservation planning for this taxon.

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Prioritizing non-marine invertebrate taxa for Red Listing

Justin Gerlach, Michael J. Samways, Axel Hochkirch, Mary Seddon, Pedro Cardoso, Viola Clausnitzer Neil Cumberlidge, B. A. Daniel, Scott Hoffman Black, Jürgen Ott, Paul H. Williams

The IUCN Red List of threatened species is biased towards vertebrate animals, a major limitation on its utility for overall biodiversity assessment. There is a need to increase the representation of invertebrates (currently 21 % of species assessed on the List;\1 % of all invertebrates). A prioritisation system of terrestrial and freshwater groups is presented here, categorising taxa by species richness, assessment practicality, value for human land use and bioindication, and potential to act as conservation flagships. 25 major taxonomic groupings were identified as priorities, including the Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Onycophora. Of these, the high-level taxa that emerge as highest priorities are Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), Araneae (), Mantophasmatodea (heelwalkers), Plecoptera (stoneflies), non-marine Mollusca (Bivalvia and Gastropoda), Trichoptera (caddisflies), Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Oligochaetes (earthworms), Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets), Decapoda (crayfish, crabs, shrimps) and Diptera (flies). Of these Red Listing is well advanced for Decapoda, freshwater Mollusca and Odonata. This leaves eight higher taxa with currently a minimum or patchy Red List assessment coverage. We recommend that Red List assessments in future focus on these groups, as well as completion of assessments for terrestrial Molluscs and Odonata. However, we also recommend realism, and as some of groups are very large, it will be necessary to focus on subsets such as certain functionally important or charismatic taxa or on a sampled subset which is representative of a larger taxon.

Assessing human impact on fen biodiversity: effects of different management regimes on butterfly, grasshopper, and carabid beetle assemblages

Sebastian Görn, Bernd Dobner, Axinia Suchanek, Klaus Fischer

Fens and concomitantly the associated species assemblages have undergone dramatic declines in recent decades. Given that many remaining or restored fens are currently lying fallow, an important question is which management regime, if any, is most effective in preserving fen biodiversity. Against this background we here investigate the effects of five management regimes (intensive grassland, moist meadows, summer harvested sites, winter harvested sites, fallows) on three insect taxa (butterflies, grasshoppers, carabid beetles) in riverine fens in north-eastern Germany. Butterflies and grasshoppers showed highest species numbers, diversity and numbers of threatened species on moist meadows and were detrimentally affected by high vegetation. In contrast, ground dwelling carabid beetles were less strongly affected by different management regimes, but responded very sensitive to drainage. Winter harvested sites and fallows seemed to be particularly beneficial to carabid beetles. Overall, drained, intensive grassland was not suitable for preserving fen-specific communities, while extensively managed moist meadows harboured overall the highest numbers of threatened species. We conclude that in terms of management maintaining high water tables is most important. Furthermore, some management seems necessary to maintain stands with lower vegetation turf for associated species. However, care is needed to also maintain fallows and to consider the specific demands of some highly endangered, management-sensitive species.

Response of Orthoptera communities to succession in alluvial pine Woodlands

Felix Helbing, Tim Peter Blaeser, Franz Löffler, Thomas Fartmann

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During the past 150 years forest management has dramatically altered in Central European woodlands, with severe consequences for biodiversity. Light forests that fulfilled variable human demands were replaced by dark high forests that function solely as wood plantations. In the Alps, by contrast, open woodlands are still present because the traditional land use as wood pasture has remained and physiographical conditions favour natural dynamics. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of succession on the Orthoptera communities of alluvial pine woodlands in the northern Alps. Orthoptera showed a clear response to succession, with each successional stage harbouring a unique assemblage. The influence of succession on species richness and abundance were identical: The values were highest in the intermediate and lowest in the late seral stage. The diversity and abundance peak in the mid-successional stage probably reflects a trade-off between favourable ambient temperatures for optimal development and sufficient food, oviposition sites and shelter against predators. Food shortage and easy access for predators seemed to be limiting factors in the early successional stage. In contrast, in the late successional stage adverse microclimatic conditions probably limit Orthoptera occurrence. Although all three successional stages of the pine woodlands are relevant for conservation, the early and mid-successional stages are the most important ones. Conservation management for Orthoptera in this woodland type should aim at the reintroduction of cattle grazing and the restoration of the natural discharge and bedload-transport regimes of the alpine rivers.

Temporal-Spatial Dynamics in Orthoptera in Relation to Nutrient Availability and Plant Species Richness

Rob J. J. Hendriks1*, Luisa G. Carvalheiro2,4, Roy M. J. C. Kleukers3,4, Jacobus C. Biesmeijer4 1Department of Ecology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 2Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom 3European Invertebrate Survey-Netherlands, Leiden, The Netherlands 4Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Nutrient availability in ecosystems has increased dramatically over the last century. Excess reactive nitrogen deposition is known to negatively impact plant communities, e.g. by changing species composition, biomass and vegetation structure. In contrast, little is known on how such impacts propagate to higher trophic levels. To evaluate how nitrogen deposition affects plants and herbivore communities through time, we used extensive databases of spatially explicit historical records of Dutch plant species and Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets), a group of animals that are particularly susceptible to changes in the C:N ratio of their resources. We use robust methods that deal with the unstandardized nature of historical databases to test whether nitrogen deposition levels and plant richness changes influence the patterns of richness change of Orthoptera, taking into account Orthoptera species functional traits. Our findings show that effects indeed also propagate to higher trophic levels. Differences in functional traits affected the temporal-spatial dynamics of assemblages of Orthoptera. While nitrogen deposition affected plant diversity, contrary to our expectations, we could not find a strong significant effect of food related traits. However we found that species with low habitat specificity, limited dispersal capacity and egg deposition in the soil were more negativly affected by nitrogen deposition levels. Despite the lack of significant effect of plant richness or food related traits on Orthoptera, the negative effects of nitrogen detected within certain trait groups (e.g. groups with limited disperse ability) could be related to subtle changes in plant abundance and plant quality. Our results, however, suggest that the changes in soil conditions (where many Orthoptera species lay their eggs) or other habitat changes driven by nitrogen have a stronger influence than food related traits. To fully evaluate the negative effects of nitrogen deposition on higher trophic levels it is essential to take into account species life-history traits.

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Geographic variation in relict populations: genetics and phenotype of bush- cricket Pholidoptera frivaldskyi (Orthoptera) in Carpathians

Peter Kaňuch, Benjamin Jarčuška, Elena Iulia Iorgu, Ionuţ Ştefan Iorgu, Anton Kriştin

A decreasing population size is often causing species extinction; however, relict species persisting in small- sized populations counter this. We analysed spatial genetic variation and past changes in population size at the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA level to clarify the origin of all recently known isolated populations of Pholidoptera frivaldskyi occurring in the range of Carpathian Mountains. Along with that we analysed also morphological variation as some phenotypic traits can retain useful information on population genetic structure. We found a relatively low genetic diversity within isolated populations as 778 bp COI gene sequences revealed only 13 unique haplotypes (n = 173 individuals from 10 populations). The spatial analysis of molecular variance identified three geographically homogenous genetic clusters (one in Slovakia and two in Romania) with a high level of differentiation among them, suggesting restricted gene flow, whilst Bayesian skyline simulation reconstructed a negative demographic change through evolutionary time. Inferred genetic pattern clearly coincides with differences in males’ colour phenotype as the extent of pigmentation on the lateral pronotum varied significantly among genetic lineages. We suggest that geographical variation in the species populations has relict-like character and their isolated occurrence is not a result of recent introduction events. Identification of ‘evolutionary units’ may help in the conservation and management of this rare insect species.

Is functional connectivity in common grasshopper species affected by fragmentation in an agricultural landscape?

Daniela Kellera,b,∗, Maarten J. van Striena,b, Marc Herrmanna, Janine Bolliger a, Peter J. Edwardsb, Jaboury Ghazoulb, Rolf Holdereggera,b aWSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland bDepartment of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland

This study assessed the effects of a fragmented and intensively used agricultural landscape in Switzerland (study area: 95 km2) on functional habitat connectivity of three common grasshopper species with different levels of habitat specialisation, Chorthippus albomarginatus, C. biguttulus and Gomphocerippus rufus. A combination of habitat suitability analysis (ecological niche factor analysis) with landscape genetic methods (clustering and least-cost transect analysis) was applied. This enabled the identification of population genetic structure, the habitats where species reproduce and the habitats through which species disperse. For all three study species, there was no distinct population genetic structure detected, and mean pairwise genetic differentiation was generally low (FST ≤ 0.05), although highest for the least mobile species G. rufus. Habitat suitability analysis largely confirmed expectations from literature, finding a large area of suitable habitat for both C. albomarginatus and C. biguttulus in the study area. In contrast, the reproductive habitat of the more specialised species G. rufus was more distinct and less widespread. Furthermore, a most likely dispersal habitat could not be clearly identified for C. albomarginatus and C. biguttulus, but G. rufus seemed to disperse through forests. None of the three species showed a preference for dispersal paths through the mapped reproductive habitat. In conclusion, this study detected only a minor effect of a fragmented agricultural landscape on functional habitat connectivity in three common grasshopper species. The effects were more pronounced for G. rufus, which was the most specialised and least mobile of the three study species. These results exhibit an overall positive perspective for the long-term persistence of common grasshopper species in intensively managed agricultural landscapes.

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Sphodromantis viridis (Forskal, 1775): New for Portugal and new records of the rare and small mantids Apteromantis aptera (Fuente, 1894) and Perlamantis allibertii Guérin-Méneville, 1843 in the country (Mantodea: Mantidae and )

Eduardo Marabuto14, Ivo Rodrigues2, Sérgio S Henriques3 1CoBiG2 - Computational Biology and Population Genomics Group; CBA-FCUL, University of Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal 2Rua D. Afonso III, 22D, Beja, Portugal 3Terrestrial invertebrates Division, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom 4Corresponding author

Several new records are presented on some of the least known mantis species in the Iberian Peninsula. From data collected in Portugal, their analysis has proven to represent an important advancement in the knowledge of this group of insects for the country and the Western Mediterranean area. Twenty new citations provide a better understanding on the distribution of the crepuscular species Perlamantis allibertii, the IUCN red listed Apteromantis aptera and the first Portuguese records of viridis, extending their western limits of occurrence in Europe. The data thus gathered emphasizes the need to invest in biodiversity assessment for increased knowledge on species distribution and phenology but also for monitoring over time, essential to better ascertaining ecosystem services, the effects of climate change and habitat conservation.

Diversidad y distribución de acridios (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) en pastizales del sur de la región pampeana, Argentina (Diversity and distribution of grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) in grasslands of the Southern Pampas region, Argentina.)

Yanina Mariottini1, María Laura De Wysiecki1 & Carlos Ernesto Lange1,2 1Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE) (CCT La Plata-CONICET-UNLP), Calle 2 Nº584, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina; [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas (CIC) de la provincia de Buenos Aires.

In Argentina, the grasslands of Pampas region comprise approximately 15% of the country. As in other grasslands of the world, grasshoppers are among the most important native herbivores. Their economic importance has been recognized in Argentina since the mid to late nineteenth century, since outbreaks of different species have become recurrent phenomena. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to study their diversity and distribution in grasslands of the Southern Pampas region (Laprida county, Buenos Aires province), as one of the most affected areas. The study was conducted during five seasons (2005-10). Sampling sites were represented by the most common plant communities in this area, classified in four categories: native grasslands, disturbed grasslands, implanted pastures and halophilous grasslands. The samplings were conducted from mid-spring to early autumn, with five or six samples per season. We estimated the following population descriptors: species richness (S), eveness (E), dominance (J), and diversity index (H´). In order to evaluate the similitude of the grasshopper communities present in the different plant communities, we used qualitative and quantitative coefficients of similitude. A total of 22 species of grasshoppers were collected, of which 21 belong to the family . The subfamily Melanoplinae was the most diverse with eight species. The largest species richness was recorded in native grasslands (18). The different communities of grasshoppers had similar indices of evenness and dominance (p>0.05). Considering all plant communities, the average value of Shannon-Wiener index was 1.58±0.075. There was a positive correlation between evenness index and species richness (p<0.05). The diversity index H’ was different between plants communities (p<0.05), and it was higher in the disturbed grassland (1.75±0.096,

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 p<0.05) than in the halophilous grasslands (1.34±0.12). Native and disturbed grasslands had a higher plant richness than halophilous grasslands and implanted pastures (p<0.05). There was a positive relationship between plant richness and grasshoppers species richness, and diversity of grasshoppers. According to the qualitative indices applied, the similitude between different grasshopper communities was higher than 60%. In general, the species that had a higher frequency of occurrence showed greater abundance and distribution. Covasacris pallidinota, Dichroplus elongatus, D. maculipennis, Borellia bruneri and B. pallida were the most widely distributed species, most of them (12) showed a restricted distribution and few (five) an intermediate distribution.

Insect conservation in the southern temperate zones: an overview

Tim R New1* and Michael J Samways2 1Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic. 3086, Australia. 2Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.

Insect conservation in the southern hemisphere lags substantially behind developments in parts of Europe and North America, where the relatively small faunas are better documented, and where a historical culture of natural history has enabled conservation needs to be assessed and addressed by many sympathetic supporters. We contrast this scenario with the much more embryonic knowledge and capability available in Australia, southern Africa, southern South America and New Zealand, all regions with large and incompletely documented insect faunas, but an equivalent array of threats to their survival. While a few individual ‘flagship species’ (mainly within Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Coleoptera) have been critical in promoting wider interests, in general insects do not signify highly on regional conservation agendas. We offer a perspective of the major needs to counter this.

Early changes of orthopteran assemblages after grassland restoration: a comparison of space-for-time substitution versus repeated measures monitoring

István András Rácz, Eszter Déri, Máté Kisfali, Zoltán Batiz, Katalin Varga, Gyula Szabó, Szabolcs Lengyel.

Although grasslands harbour significant biodiversity and their restoration is common in biodiversity conservation, we know very little about how such interventions influence groups. Here we compared orthopteran assemblages in croplands, natural grasslands and one to four-year-old grasslands restored in a large-scale programme in Hortobágy National Park (East Hungary). We sampled orthopterans by standardized sweep-netting both in a repeated measures design from Year 0 (croplands) to 4 and in a space- for-time substitution (chronosequence) design in 2009. Species richness, abundance and Shannon diversity of orthopterans decreased in Year 1 following restoration, but increased afterwards. By Year 4, species richness doubled and abundance increased almost ten-fold in restored grasslands compared to croplands. Species composition diversified compared to croplands and progressed towards natural grasslands. Local restoration conditions (last crop, seed mixture) and landscape configuration (proportion of natural grasslands) did not influence the above patterns in either study design, whereas time since restoration affected almost all community variables. We found that ubiquitous generalist species were the first to appear in restored grasslands and that species characteristic to the target natural grasslands colonised gradually in later years. The qualitative and quantitative properties of the orthopteran assemblages in restored fields did not yet reach those of natural grasslands, therefore, our study suggests that the full regeneration of the orthopteran assemblages takes more than four years. We also concluded that the repeated-measures design was more

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GSG Newshopper - August 2014 sensitive to subtle changes and was thus more effective than the chronosequence design at detecting post- restoration changes in orthopteran assemblages.

The westernmost localities of the bush-cricket Leptophyes discoidalis (Tettigoniidae: )

Josip Skejo1 & Mihajlo Stanković2 1IRES – Institute for Research and Development of Sustainable Ecosystems, Ivana Lučića 5, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia ([email protected]) 2Zasavica Special Nature Reserve, Pokret Gorana, Svetog Save 19, RS-22000 Sremska Mitrovica,Serbia ([email protected])

This paper presents two westernmost records in the Pannonian lowland for the eastern and central European bush-cricket Leptophyes discoidalis (Frivaldszky, 1868) (Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae): near the road from Privlaka village to Vinkovci in the Slavonia region (Croatia) and Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Srijem, Vojvodina region (Serbia). The Privlaka record is the first record of this species in Croatia.

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IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group Members July 2014

Isabelle Badenhausser Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique France Edward Baker Natural History Museum London UK Roberto Battiston Museo di Speleologia e Carsismo "A. Parolini" Italy Corinna Bazelet Stellenbosch University South Africa Marcio Bolfarini Universidade Federal de São Carlos Brazil Yoan Braud ASCETE France Holger Braun Museo de La Plata Argentina Paul Brock Natural History Museum London UK Mark Bushell Bristol Zoological Gardens UK Filippo Maria Buzzetti WBA-World Biodiversity Association Italy Ioana Chintauan- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle France Marquier Dragan Chobanov Bulgarian Academy of Science Bulgaria Maria Marta Cigliano Museo de La Plata Argentina Battal Ciplak Akdeniz University Turkey Pedro Javier Cordero Universidad de Castilla - La Mancha Spain Tapia Bernard Defaut ASCETE France Hendrik Devriese KBIN Belgium Charles Dewhurst PNG Oil Palm Research Association UK Thomas Fartmann University of Münster Germany Paolo Fontana CTT Italy Antoine Foucart CIRAD France Tim Gardiner Environment Agency UK Stanislav Gomboc Phytosanitary Administration of the Republic of Slovenia Slovenia Andrej Gorochov Russian Academy of Science Russia Paul Grant Canada Sam Heads Illinois Natural History Survey USA Klaus-Gerhard Heller Germany Claudia Hemp University of Bayreuth Germany Axel Hochkirch University of Trier Germany Jaroslav Holuša Faculty of Forestry and Wood Science Czech Republic Sylvain Hugel Université de Strasbourg France Inge Illich Haus der Natur Austria Ionut Stefan Iorgu National Museum of Natural History Bucharest Romania Sami Karjalainen Finland Theresa Karpati Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL Switzerland Schutzstrategien Vassiliki Kati University of Ioannina Greece Roy Kleukers European Invertebrate Survey Netherlands Petr Kocarek University of Ostrava Czech Republic Anton Kristin Institute of Forest Ecology Slovakia Michèle Lemonnier- Groupement d'Études Entomologiques Méditerranée France Darcemont Heriberto Lopez University of Tenerife Spain Khalid Mahmood Azad Jammu and Kashmir University Pakistan

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Ricardo Mariño-Pérez University of Central Florida Mexico Judith Marshall Natural History Museum London UK Dardo A. Marti Misiones University Argentina Bruno Massa University of Palermo Italy Pat Matyot Seychelles Piotr Naskrecki Museum of Comparative Zoology - Harvard University USA Baudewijn Odé Stichting FLORON Netherlands Daniel Otte Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia USA Paul Pearce-Kelly Zoological Society London UK Martina Eugenia Pocco Museo de La Plata Argentina Juan José Presa Murcia University Spain Fran Rebrina University of Zagreb Croatia David Rentz Australia Klaus Riede Museum Koenig Germany Christian Rösti Switzerland Florin Rutschmann Switzerland Kai Schütte University of Hamburg Germany Michael Sergeev Novosibirsk State University Russia Deniz Şirin Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Turkey Josip Skejo University of Zagreb Croatia Ian A. Stringer Department of Conservation New Zealand Gergely Szovenyi Eötvös Loránd University Hungary Laurent Tatin Conservatoire Etudes des Ecosystèmes de Provence - Alpes du Sud France Elli Tzirkalli University of Ioannina Cyprus Georg Waeber Articulata Germany Corinne Watts Landcare Research New Zealand David Weissman California Academy of Science USA Jan Wieringa Wageningen University Netherlands Luc Willemse National Herbarium Netherlands

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