Ephippiger terrestris

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Ephippiger terrestris
Tettigoniidae - Ephippiger terrestris bormansi.JPG
Ephippiger terrestris bormansi. Male, side view
Tettigoniidae - Ephippiger terrestris bormansi-001.JPG
Dorsal view
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Tettigoniidae
Genus: Ephippiger
Species:
E. terrestris
Binomial name
Ephippiger terrestris
Yersin, 1854
Synonyms
  • Ephippigera terrestris Yersin, 1854
Close-Up of a Ephippiger terrestris

Ephippiger terrestris, common name Alpine saddle-backed bush-cricket, is a bush cricket species belonging to the family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Bradyporinae. [1]

Contents

Subspecies

Subspecies include: [2]

Distribution

This species is present in Middle and Southwestern Europe (France, Italy and Switzerland). [3] [4] The subspecies E. terrestris bormansi occurs only in northern Italy and southern Switzerland. [5]

Habitat

This species occurs in warm mountain meadows and pastures, in open rocks and in dwarf shrubs, [5] at an elevation of 1,000–2,000 metres (3,300–6,600 ft) above sea level. [6]

Description

Ephippiger terrestris terrestris. Female Ephippiger terrestris terrestris.jpg
Ephippiger terrestris terrestris. Female

Ephippiger terrestris can reach a body length of about 23–28 mm (0.91–1.10 in) in males, of about 28–32 mm (1.1–1.3 in) in females, while ovipositor can reach about 25–28 mm (0.98–1.10 in). [5]

These bush crickets are usually bluish-green. However, in both sexes the body color is quite variable and often olive-green, beige and sepia-brown color variations occur. A yellowish line runs from the lower edge of the pronotum to the abdomen end. Two bright longitudinal lines run along the back sides. [5]

The back of the head is black. The form of the pronotum is rather smooth and gently concave and resembles a saddle (the Latin name ephippium means 'saddle of a horse'). They have round small atrophied wings, protruding a few millimeters below the pronotum, that are unfit to flight and only used for the emission of sounds (stridulation). In the females the ovipositor is long and slightly curved upwards. In the male cerci stand out clearly and are cylindrical and relatively long. [5]

Biology

Adults can be found from July to October. [6] The larvae go through about 5 stages. These bush crickets are omnivorous. Both the male and the female can produce sounds, even if the female does so rarely and only in response to other males. [5] [6]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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

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

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<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>Pholidoptera griseoaptera</i> Species of cricket-like insect

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<i>Barbitistes obtusus</i> Species of cricket-like animal

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

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<i>Pamphagus sardeus</i> Species of grasshopper

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<i>Svercus palmetorum</i> Species of cricket

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References

  1. Species File
  2. Catalogue of Life
  3. Fauna Europaea
  4. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". www.iucnredlist.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Orthoptera
  6. 1 2 3 Orthoptera and their ecology