| Ephippiger terrestris | |
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| Ephippiger terrestris bormansi. Male, side view | |
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| Dorsal view | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Genus: | Ephippiger |
| Species: | E. terrestris
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| Binomial name | |
| Ephippiger terrestris
Yersin, 1854
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| Synonyms | |
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Ephippiger terrestris, common name Alpine saddle-backed bush-cricket, is a bush cricket species belonging to the family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Bradyporinae. [1]
Subspecies
Subspecies include: [2]
- Ephippiger terrestris bormansi Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882 (in Italy and Switzerland)
- Ephippiger terrestris caprai Nadig, 1980 (in Italy)
- Ephippiger terrestris terrestris Yersin, 1854
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 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
- Eades D.C., Otte D., Cigliano M.M., Braun H., Orthoptera Species File.
- Bellmann & Luquet (1995), Guide des sauterelles, grillons et criquets d'Europe occidentale, Delachaux et Niestle, Lausanne 1-383 (in French)
- Fontana, La Greca & Kleukers. 2006. In Ruffo & Stoch. Checklist and distribution of the Italian fauna 2 17:137-139
- Massa, Fontana, Buzzetti, Kleukers & Odé. 2012. Fauna d'Italia. Orthoptera 48:302
- Yersin (1854), Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sc. nat. 4
References
- ^ Species File
- ^ Catalogue of Life
- ^ Fauna Europaea
- ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". www.iucnredlist.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25.
- ^ a b c d e f Orthoptera
- ^ a b c Orthoptera and their ecology
External links
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