Overview
The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are more closely related to crickets than to grasshoppers.
Many tettigoniids exhibit mimicry and camouflage, commonly with shapes and colors similar to leaves.
Tettigoniids may be distinguished from grasshoppers by the length of their filamentous antennae, which may exceed their own body length, while grasshoppers' antennae are always relatively short and thickened.
The males of tettigoniids have sound-producing organs (via stridulation) located on the hind angles of their front wings. In some species females are also capable of stridulation. The males provide a nuptial gift for the females in the form of a spermatophylax, a body attached to the males' spermatophore which is consumed by the female. The function of the spermatophylax is to increase the attachment time of the males' spermatophore and thereby increase his paternity.[1]
The eggs of tettigoniids are typically oval shaped and laid in rows on the host plant.
Distribution
There are about 255 species in North America, but the majority of species live in the tropical regions of the world.
Ecology
The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth. Large tettigoniids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled but seldom break the skin.
Some species of bush crickets are consumed by people, like the nsenene (Ruspolia baileyi) in Uganda and neighbouring areas.
Reproductive behavior
The reproductive behavior of bush crickets has been studied in great depth. Studies conducted in 2010 at the University of Derby by Karim Vahed, Darren Parker and James Gilbert found that the Tuberous Bushcricket (Platycleis affinis) has the largest testes in proportion to body mass of any animal recorded. They account for 14% of the insect's body mass and are thought to enable a fast re-mating rate.[2]
Classification
Tettigoniidae is a large family and has been divided into a number of subfamilies:
- Acridoxeninae
- Agraeciinae
- Austrosaginae
- Bradyporinae
- Conocephalinae
- Copiphorinae
- Decticinae
- Ephippigerinae
- Hetrodinae
- Lipotactinae
- Listroscelidinae
- Meconematinae
- Mecopodinae
- Microtettigoniinae
- Phaneropterinae
- Phasmodinae
- Phyllophorinae
- Pseudophyllinae
- Saginae
- Tettigoniinae
- Tympanophorinae
- Zaprochilinae
The family name is based on the genus Tettigonia, which is New Latin (Linnaeus, 1748), and derives from the Greek tett?? (tett??-), a cicada.[3]
The eggs of tettigoniids are typically oval shaped and laid in rows on the host plant.
Distribution
There are about 255 species in North America, but the majority of species live in the tropical regions of the world.
Ecology
The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth. Large tettigoniids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled but seldom break the skin.
Some species of bush crickets are consumed by people, like the nsenene (Ruspolia baileyi) in Uganda and neighbouring areas.
Reproductive behavior
The reproductive behavior of bush crickets has been studied in great depth. Studies conducted in 2010 at the University of Derby by Karim Vahed, Darren Parker and James Gilbert found that the Tuberous Bushcricket (Platycleis affinis) has the largest testes in proportion to body mass of any animal recorded. They account for 14% of the insect's body mass and are thought to enable a fast re-mating rate.[2]
Classification
Tettigoniidae is a large family and has been divided into a number of subfamilies:
- Acridoxeninae
- Agraeciinae
- Austrosaginae
- Bradyporinae
- Conocephalinae
- Copiphorinae
- Decticinae
- Ephippigerinae
- Hetrodinae
- Lipotactinae
- Listroscelidinae
- Meconematinae
- Mecopodinae
- Microtettigoniinae
- Phaneropterinae
- Phasmodinae
- Phyllophorinae
- Pseudophyllinae
- Saginae
- Tettigoniinae
- Tympanophorinae
- Zaprochilinae
The family name is based on the genus Tettigonia, which is New Latin (Linnaeus, 1748), and derives from the Greek tett?? (tett??-), a cicada.[3]
References
- ^ Karim Vahed (1998). "The function of nuptial feeding in insects: review of empirical studies" (PDF). Biological Reviews 73: 43?78. doi:10.1017/S0006323197005112. http://www.famu.org/mayfly/pubs/zor/zorpub_vahedk1998p45.pdf.
- ^ Vahed, K., D. J. Parker, and J. D. J. Gilbert. (2010) Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae). Biology Letters. http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/10/21/rsbl.2010.0840.short?rss=1
- ^ "Family Tettigoniidae ? Katydids". BugGuide.net. February 1, 2008. http://bugguide.net/node/view/164. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
External links
- Bush katydid genus Scudderia St?l, 1873 - diagnostic photographs, natural history
- Black-sided meadow katydid - Conocephalus nigropleurum - diagnostic photographs
- BugGuide.net--family Tettigoniidae
- Singing Insects of North America (SINA) website.
- Bug guide.net-- Pink Katydi d
- North American Katydids, with range maps and audio files of katydid songs.
- NYC Cricket Crawl Sept 11 2009 katydid and cricket counting collaboration
Texts on Wikisource:- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., ?To an Insect,? 1831
- "Katydid". The American Cyclop?dia. 1879.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, ?Miss Katy-Did and Miss Cricket,? Queer Little Folks, 1897
- "Katydid". Encyclop?dia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
- Paul Laurence Dunbar, ?Whip-Poor-Will and Katy-Did,? The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1913
- Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). "Katydid". The New Student's Reference Work. Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.. Wikisource
Taxonomy
The Superfamily Tettigonioidea is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (4): Haglotettigoniidae · Phaneropteridae · Pseudophyllidae · Tettigoniidae
Families
Haglotettigoniidae
Phaneropteridae
Pseudophyllidae
Tettigoniidae
The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are more closely related to crickets than to grasshoppers. [more]
At least 7,077 species and subspecies belong to the Family Tettigoniidae.
More info about the Family Tettigoniidae may be found here.
References
- ^ Karim Vahed (1998). "The function of nuptial feeding in insects: review of empirical studies" (PDF). Biological Reviews 73: 43?78. doi:10.1017/S0006323197005112. http://www.famu.org/mayfly/pubs/zor/zorpub_vahedk1998p45.pdf.
- ^ Vahed, K., D. J. Parker, and J. D. J. Gilbert. (2010) Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae). Biology Letters. http://rsbl. royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/10/21/rsbl.2010.0840.short?rss=1
- ^ "Family Tettigoniidae ? Katydids". BugGuide.net. February 1, 2008. http://bugguide.net/node/view/164. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
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