Erioloides brevipennis ( Redtenbacher, 1891 ) Redtenbacher, 1891

Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA: The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, : 88-89

Erioloides brevipennis ( Redtenbacher, 1891) n. comb.

(Short-winged scimitar)

Figs. 21 A-E, 49D, 51G-H, Map 14

1891 Redtenbacher, Monogr. Conoceph.: 351 >> Eriolus ;

type locality: Guatemala; type depository: Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna – holotype male

1999 Naskrecki and Otte, Illustr. Cat. Orthop. I (CD ROM) >> holotype illustrated

Diagnostic description.— General characteristics as described above. Body small, robust; wings in both sexes surpassing apices of hind femora by only 1/6 of their length ( Fig. 21 A). Fastigium of vertex blunt, about 1.5 times as long as eye diameter and about as wide as scapus ( Fig. 21 B). Face slightly convex, smooth; genal carinae of head poorly developed and sometimes hardly discernible. Dorsal surface of pronotum relatively rugose, flat in females, metazona slightly raised in males; anterior margin of pronotum straight, posterior one straight to weakly convex ( Fig. 21 C); lateral lobes of pronotum about 1.8 times longer than high. Male stridulatory file straight, 2.3 mm long, 192 μm wide, with 178 closely spaced and relatively wide, lamelliform teeth; teeth arranged evenly along entire length of file ( Fig. 49 E); mirror approximately square, only slightly longer than wide; secondary veinlet next to AA 1 present, well developed; stridulatory area of left wing devoid of secondary venation, secondary veinlet next to AA 1 present, somewhat divergent from AA 1.

Male 10th tergite with two narrow, pointed lobes ( Fig. 21 D); female 10th tergite with deep, narrowly triangular incision. Male cercus relatively slender, straight; its apex armed with large spine bent under right angle, and similar but somewhat smaller spine located dorsally, subapically ( Fig. 21 D). Female cercus simple, elongately conical, distinctly curved. Ttillators flattened, broad, squamose, somewhat narrowed towards apices ( Fig. 21 E). Male subgenital plate with distinct ventral keel and deep triangular incision apically; female subgenital plate triangular, with deep, triangular incision at apex. Ovipositor relatively slender, with distinct file of pegs along midline of upper valvula ( Fig. 21 A); ratio ovipositor/hind femur 0.73-0.77.

Coloration.— General coloration light green; face green, labrum yellow; pronotum sometimes with two thin, light bands along lateral, dorsal edges; posterior edge of metazona in male with reddish-brown markings ( Fig. 21 C). Tegmina green, with yellow venation; posterior margins of tegmina behind stridulatory apparatus in male reddish. Legs green; abdomen light green; ovipositor green, with brown apex.

Measurements.— Table 15 .

Bioacoustics.— The call of E. brevipennis consists of series of short buzzes produced every 1.6- 4.1 s (avrg. 2.38±0.8, n=12 at 28°C) ( Fig. 51 -G-H). Each buzz lasts 0.28- 0.51 s (avrg. 0.35±0.06, n=13) and consists of 19-34 individual pulse trains (chirps). Most of the energy of the call seems to be allocated in the acoustic range, between 11 and 17 kHz.

Males start singing after dusk from tall shrubs and low trees, about 3-4 m above the ground.

Remarks.— This species is distributed from El Salvador, through Nicaragua to northern Costa Rica ( Map 14 ). A closely related, still undescribed species occurs in Mexico (Oaxaca).

In Guanacaste Prov. E. brevipennis is a common species, found frequently on low trees as well as tall grasses on the edge of the forest. I have seen numerous individuals feeding on grass seeds.

Material examined.— COSTA RICA: Guanacaste Prov., Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Santa Rosa National Park, Estación Santa Rosa, elev. 300 m, 15 January 1989 (coll. GNP Biodiversity Survey) - 1 male, 1 female ( INBio); same locality, 20 July 1978 (coll. D.H. Janzen) - 1 male ( USNM); same locality, 31 December 1980 (coll. D.H. Janzen and W. Hallwacha) - 1 female ( USNM); same locality, elev. 300 m, 1 - 30 June 1995 (coll. D.H. Janzen and W. Hallwacha) - 1 female ( INBio); samle locality, 21 - 24 August 1999 (coll. P. Naskrecki, D. Otte, G. Morris) - 4 males, 2 females ( PN collection); EL SALVADOR: La Libertad, 25 February 1974 (coll. Chemnick et al.) - 1 male ( UMMZ); San Salvador, Parque Balboa, 6.2 mi. S. San Salvador, 7 October 1961 (coll. Hubbell, Cantrall, Cohn) - 1 male ( UMMZ); Guatemala: (coll. Dr. Candéze) - 1 male ( NHMW); NICARAGUA: Madriz, 7.8 mi. SE Somoto on Pan. Amer. Hwy., 26 September 1961 (coll. Hubbell, Cantrall, Cohn) - 1 female ( UMMZ).

Figures

FIG. 21. Erioloides brevipennis. A. female - habitus, B. male face, C. male head and pronotum, dorsal view, D. male cerci, dorsal and posterior views, E. titillators, dorsal view.

FIG. 49. Stridulatory files of species of Erioloides. A. E. longipennis, B. ditto, variation, C. E. macrocephalus, D. E. brevipennis, E. E. latiscobinus, F. E. consobrinus.

FIG. 51. Stridulatory files of Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Subria sylvestris, C. Podacanthophorus maylinae, C. Podacanthophorus alas, D. Podacanthophorus vargasi, E. Pluviasilva levis, F. Pluviasilva mexicana.

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