Available Online at http://www.recentscientific.com International Journal of CODEN: IJRSFP (USA) Recent Scientific International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Research Vol. 11, Issue, 12(D), pp. 40398-40401, December, 2020 ISSN: 0976-3031 DOI: 10.24327/IJRSR Research Article FIRST RECORD OF SOME ACRIDIDAE (ACRIDOIDEA: ORTHOPTERA) FAUNA FROM WEST BENGAL, INDIA Mustafijur Rahaman and Mohd. Kamil Usmani Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh- 202002 (U.P). (7417951421) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2020.1112.8687 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Order Orthoptera has the largest group of economically important insects among which family Acrididae is most significant. The individuals of this family also known as short hornet Received 6th September, 2020 th grasshoppers. This present work is carried out in several agricultural fields, forests and wet lands Received in revised form 15 from West Bengal, India. 10 species of grasshopper belonging to 9 genera have been collected and October, 2020 reported for the first time from this state. Their detailed taxonomic account have also been Accepted 12th November, 2020 th conducted. Published online 28 December, 2020 Key Words: Acrididae, Agricultural pest, First record, Taxonomy. Copyright © MustafijurRahaman and Mohd. KamilUsmani, 2020, this is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION etc from various locations of West Bengal state, India. The climate of the State is tropical and humid except in the northern Grasshoppers and locusts are one of the most economically hilly region which is close to the Himalayas. The temperature important insect species. This orthopterous pests belong to in the mainland normally varies between 24°C to 40°C during superfamily Acridoidea. They are economically important summer and 7°C to 26°C during the winter. The average because of their infestation on several number of cultivated and rainfall in the State is about 1750 mm. non-cultivated crops and causing damage all over the world.Orthoptera is one of the most diverse Orders of Class MATERIALS AND METHODS Insecta which is divided into two suborders i.e. Caelifera, also This present study is conducted by sample collection from the known as short horned grasshoppers and Ensifera called long pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons of the years 2015 to 2018. horned grasshoppers. Locusts are predominant pests in Sampling was done by using sweep net, light traps, hand countries bordering deserts such as Africa where the picking methods. Collection of the insects was primarily done devastations caused by migratory swarms of locusts are well in early morning and afternoon. All the samples are killed in a known. Swarms of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) jar by using cotton soaked in 100% ethyl acetate. Then the have plagued agriculture from the ancient recorded times. specimens were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol solution for The first detailed account of the acridid fauna of India has been further studies. For the purpose of taxonomic study, few of the done by Kirby (1914). He has described 329 species under 124 samples were stretched and dried also. Proper taxonomic keys genera in the fauna of British India including Burma and were followed for the identification of all the samples up to the Ceylon. In this pioneer work Kirby has given a generalized subspecies level. The morphological characters of the insect account of the morphology and has also provided identification were studied under the stereo zoom light microscope. The keys. Agarwal (1952) did a comparative study of the genitalic study was carried out by cutting the distal portion of ovipositors in the family Acrididae and explained that the the abdomen having all the genitalia of both male and female ovipositors are correlated with the soil conditions. specimens. The portion was then boiled in a test tube containing 10% potassium hydroxide solution which helps for Study area: This present work has been done by collecting the the removal of all the muscles. Then all the genitalic structures grasshopper samples from several ecosystems such as were dissected out by using fine tipped forceps and needle. grasslands, agricultural fields, dry deciduous forests, wet lands *Corresponding author: Mustafijur Rahaman Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh- 202002 (U.P). (7417951421) International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 11, Issue, 12(D), pp. 40398-40401, December, 2020 Measurements of several body parts of male and female Distribution grasshoppers such as head and body length, length and width of India: Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya pronotum, tegmina, hind femur, and hind tibia has been done Pradesh, Meghalaya and West Bengal by using Vernier Calliper. Identified specimens were then photographed by using stereozoom microscope and DSLR Species 3: Diabolocatantops pinguis(Stal, 1861) camera (Sony Alpha 58). Hand drawings were also done by Diagnosis using camera lucida. Body medium sized and robust; integument finely tectiform; RESULTS AND DISCUSSION antennae filiform; fastigium of vertex wide, median carinula absent, lateral carinulae prominent; pronotum finely tectiform, 10 grasshopper species (Acrida gigantea, Orthoctha indica, lateral carinae absent, prozona shorter than metazona; prosternal Diabolocatantops pinguis, Xenocatantops karnyi, Acorypha process cylindrical with flat apex; mesosternal interspace open insignis, Leionotacris bolivari, Aiolopus thalassinus thalassinus, with rounded lobes; tegmina fully developed, exceeding abdomen; Aiolopus simulatrix, Oedipoda miniata miniata, Oxya japonica hind femora slender, not exceeding abdomen, upper carina with japonica) has been collected and recorded for the first time black-tipped serrations; hind tibiae straight with two rows of dorsal from the state of West Bengal, India. black-tipped spines, eleven dorso-external while eleven dorso- Order: Orthoptera internal; dorso-external apical spine absent; inner pair of tibial Family: Acrididae spurs slightly longer. Species 1: Acrida gigantean (Herbst, 1786) Material examined Diagnosis: India: West Bengal, Haldia, 2♂, 3♀, 12-VII-2017, Siliguri, 7♂, Body elongated large sized; antennae ensiform; pronotum 5♀, 29-VII-2017, Raiganj, 3♂, 2♀, 30-VII-2018 (Coll. M. slightly rugose, median carina crossed by posterior transverse Rahaman). sulcus only, prominent lateral carinae; prozona slightly shorter than metazona,posterior margin angular with acute apex; Distribution mesosternal interspace open, mesosternal lobes rounded; India: Kerala, Manipur, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. tegmina and wings fully developed, surpassing the tip of the abdomen, apex sub-acute; hind femora elongate, slender, Species 4: Xenocatantops karnyi (Kirby, 1910) exceeding abdomen; hind tibiae straight with two rows of Diagnosis spines; external apical spine absent; inner tibial spur of inner side longer; tarsal region usually cylindrical; arolium of small Body medium and stout; antennae filiform, head obtusely size. conical; frons oblique; frontal ridge narrow, flat. pronotum flat with weakly developed median carina, equally raised in prozona Material examined and metazoan, lateral carinae absent, shining black spots on INDIA: West Bengal, Asansol 2♂, 1♀, 20-IX-2017; Bankura, lateral side of pronotum present; prosternal process cylindrical 2♂, 2♀, 15-VII-2015, Barddhaman, 4♂, 3♀, 20-VII-2016, with obtuse apex; mesosternal interspace open; tegmina fully Durgapur, 2♂, 3♀, 20-VII-2015, Haldia, 2♂, 3♀, 12-VII-2017, developed, exceeding apex of hind femur, apex rounded; hind Howrah, 2♂, 2♀, 24-VIII-2018, Hoogly, 1♀, 26-VII-2016, wing slightly shorter than the tegmina, without any fascia; hind Kharagpur, 2♂, 1♀, 25-VII-2018, Malda, 2♂, 2♀, 29-VII-2017, femur long and slender, upper carina serrated, lower carina Raiganj, 3♂, 2♀, 30-VII-2018 (Coll. M. Rahaman). smooth, reaching to the tip of abdomen; hind tibia cylindrical, shorter than the hind femur, external apical spine absent; Distribution arolium large. India: Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Material examined Pradesh and West Bengal. India: West Bengal, Kolkata, 1♀, 20-IX-2017; Howrah, 2♂, Species 2: Orthochthaindica Uvarov, 1942 24-VIII-2018, Kharagpur, 4♀, 26-VII-2016, Raiganj, 3♂, 2♀, Diagnosis 30-VII-2018 (Coll. M. Rahaman). Body slender and medium sized; antennae filiform; frons Distribution oblique; fastigialfoveolae absent; pronotum with more India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, tectiform prozona and less tectiform metazona, median carina Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, prominent, dorsum of pronotum sub-cylindrical, slightly Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West extended in metazona, prozona longer than metazona; Bengal. mesosternal interspace open; mesosternal lobes rounded, tegmina and wings fully developed, apex rounded; hind femora Species 5: Acorypha insignis(Walker, 1870) slender exceeding abdomen tip, round pale band is present on Diagnosis distal half near to knee lobe; tibia nearly straight with two rows each of eleven dorsal spines; arolium medium sized. Body large and robust; antennae filiform, 28 segmented, length is equal to head and pronotum together; fastigium of vertex Material Examined elongate, narrow, with weak longitudinal concavityad joined by INDIA, West