Ectomoptera nepicauda Ragge, 1980

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa, Zootaxa 3737 (4), pp. 301-350 : 337

Ectomoptera nepicauda Ragge, 1980 ( Fig. 25 , Fig. 26 )

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:12530

Distribution: Tanzania, East Usambara Mountains (Ragge 1980).

Habitat: Lowland evergreen forest.

Ecology & Biology: E. nepicauda is a night active species and was caught in the early night hours along the Zigi Trail on the foothills of the East Usambara Mountains in March 2012. It was shaken from understory trees and found below larger leaves in bushes and large herbs in heights between 1– 2 m. When the same trail was searched for Orthoptera at night in November 2011 this species was not found suggesting that it might be seasonal. E. nepicauda has an unusual modified stridulatory area and produces a resonant song (Heller & Hemp, in prep.)

Figures

FIGURE 25. Male Ectomoptera nepicauda, Zigi Trail, East Usambara Mountains.

FIGURE 26. Female Ectomoptera nepicauda, same locality as male in Fig 25.