Barbitistes obtusus

Last updated

Barbitistes obtusus
Phaneropterinae - Barbitistes obtusus. (male).JPG
Barbitistes obtusus. Male
Phaneropteridae - Barbitistes obtusus (female).jpg
Barbitistes obtusus. Female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Tettigoniidae
Subfamily: Phaneropterinae
Genus: Barbitistes
Species:
B. obtusus
Binomial name
Barbitistes obtusus
Synonyms [1]
List
  • Barbitistes alpinus Fruhstorfer, 1920
  • Barbitistes obtusus alpina Fruhstorfer, 1920
  • Barbitistes obtusus alpinus Fruhstorfer, 1920
Close-Up of a Barbitistes obtusus

Barbitistes obtusus, the southern saw-tailed bush-cricket or Alpine saw bush-cricket, is a species of bush crickets in the subfamily Phaneropterinae. [2] [3]

Contents

Distribution and habitat

This species replaces Barbitistes serricauda in the Southern Alps. It is present in France, Italy and Switzerland, from the Basses-Alpes to the Julian Alps and central Apennines, with a small populations in the Apuan Alps. This typical mountain species prefers lightly shaded woods and scrubland up to 2000 meters a.s.l.. It is often found on blackberry leaves. [4]

Description

Barbitistes obtusus can reach a length of 18–20 millimetres (0.71–0.79 in) in males, of 20–21 millimetres (0.79–0.83 in) in female, with an ovipositor of 9–10 millimetres (0.35–0.39 in). [4] [5] This species is very similar to Barbitistes serricauda , so that both species are difficult to distinguish from each other.

The ground color varies greatly from gray and light brown to olive green and turquoise. Dark individuals are rare. The head is reddish. The reddish to dark antennae are about a body length and show a small bright ring at regular intervals. Two yellow stripes with red border extend from the eyes on pronotum and tegmina. The abdomen is short and thick, while the pronotum and head are quite small. The abdomen has tiny dark spots. The reddish legs are of medium length and wear small spines. The sharply formed wings are reddish brown and laterally yellow lined. In the female the wings are shorter and they may be greenish, yellowish or reddish brown. The cerci of the male are dark red-brown, clearly S-shaped, with rounded apex. They are the most important distinction between this species and Barbitistes serricauda. [4] [5] [6]

Biology

Adults can be found from June to August feeding on plants and small invertebrates. [4] About egg laying and development little is known. The singing of this species consists of short sounds generated 3-10 times per minute depending on the temperature. [5]

Barbitistes obtusus, male. Dorsal view Phaneropterinae - Barbitistes obtusus. (male)-001.JPG
Barbitistes obtusus, male. Dorsal view

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>Miramella</i> Genus of grasshoppers

Miramella is a small genus of short-horned grasshoppers in the subfamily Melanoplinae. They are found in Europe and eastern Asia. As of January 2019, Orthoptera Species File lists seven species in three subgenera. The genus was first named in 1932. Miramella is the type genus of the subtribe Miramellina.

Sam W. Heads is a British palaeontologist, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, as well as a former Officer and Editor-in-Chief at the Orthopterists' Society.

<i>Aiolopus strepens</i> Species of grasshopper

Aiolopus strepens is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae, subfamily Oedipodinae.

<i>Calliptamus siciliae</i> Species of grasshopper

Calliptamus siciliae, commonly known as the pygmy pincer grasshopper, is a species of short-horned grasshoppers belonging to the family Acrididae subfamily Calliptaminae.

<i>Metaplastes pulchripennis</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Metaplastes pulchripennis, common name Italian ornate bush-cricket, is a species of 'katydids crickets' belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Phaneropterinae.

<i>Pholidoptera fallax</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Pholidoptera fallax is a species of 'katydids crickets' belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae.

<i>Yersinella raymondii</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Yersinella raymondii, common name Raymond's bush-cricket, is a species of "katydids crickets" belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae. The scientific name Yersinella comes from the name of the entomologist who has described the species in 1860.

<i>Conocephalus fuscus</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Conocephalus fuscus, the long-winged conehead, is a member of the family Tettigoniidae, the bush-crickets and is distributed through much of Europe and temperate Asia. This bush-cricket is native to the British Isles where it may confused with the short-winged conehead. These two species are phenotypically similar; however, the distinguishing factor between the two is the fully developed set of wings the long-winged conehead possesses that allows for flight. In the short-winged coneheads the hind wings are shorter than the abdomen, causing the wings to be vestigial and the species is incapable of flight. For this reason it is hard to discriminate between the two species during the early stages of their life cycle before the wings have fully developed. The colouration of the conehead is typically a grass green with a distinctive brown stripe down its back, though there are some brown phenotypes.

<i>Stenobothrus rubicundulus</i> Species of grasshopper

Stenobothrus rubicundulus, the wing-buzzing grasshopper, is a species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae.

<i>Onomarchus</i> (katydid) Genus of cricket-like animals

Onomarchus is a genus of bush crickets or katydids found mainly distributed in the tropical forests of Asia. Like many other members of the subfamily Pseudophyllinae, their wings appear very leaf-like.

<i>Antaxius pedestris</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Antaxius pedestris is a species of "bush crickets" belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. It was originally described by Johan Christian Fabricius under the scientific name of Locusta pedestris.

<i>Brachytrupes megacephalus</i> Species of cricket

Brachytrupes megacephalus is a species of cricket in the family Gryllidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grylloidea</span> Superfamily of cricket-like animals

Grylloidea is the superfamily of insects, in the order Orthoptera, known as crickets. It includes the "true crickets", scaly crickets, wood crickets and other families, some only known from fossils.

<i>Sepiana</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Sepiana sepium, common name sepia bush-cricket, is a species of bush crickets belonging to the tribe Platycleidini and genus group Platycleis. It is the only species within the monotypic genus Sepiana.

<i>Leptophyes laticauda</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Leptophyes laticauda is a species of bush-crickets belonging to the family Tettigoniidae.

<i>Ephippiger perforatus</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Ephippiger perforatus, the North Apennine saddle bush-cricket, is a species of insect in the family Tettigoniidae.

<i>Ectobius vittiventris</i> Species of cockroach

Ectobius vittiventris, the amber wood cockroach or amber forest cockroach, is a species belonging to the order Blattodea and is a type of wood cockroach originally from southern Europe. It is completely harmless to humans and is not a storage pest, as it only feeds on decomposing plant material and perishes within a few days in human dwellings due to a lack of food. Its original range was south of the Alps, but is now permanently established north of the Alps and in southern Germany.

<i>Gryllotalpa unispina</i> Species of cricket-like animal

Gryllotalpa unispina is a species of mole cricket, in the G. gryllotalpa species group, found in Eastern Europe through to Manchuria. No subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life.

Gomphoceridius is a monotypic genus of grasshoppers containing the species Gomphoceridius brevipennis and placed in the subfamily Gomphocerinae, tribe Gomphocerini.

<i>Conocephalus conocephalus</i> Species of bush cricket

Conocephalus conocephalus is the type species of the conehead genus Conocephalus and the bush cricket tribe Conocephalini. This species has been recorded from southern Europe, including France, and Africa. Described by Carl von Linné in 1767, C. conocephalus appears to have no surviving type specimens, although it is believed that material may have been obtained from Africa.

References