Journal of Orthoptera Research 

About: Journal of Orthoptera Research is an academic journal published by Pensoft Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Genus & Population. It has an ISSN identifier of 1082-6467. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 723 publications have been published receiving 7204 citations. The journal is also known as: JOR.

The significance of body size in the Orthoptera: a review

Abstract: This review discusses body size and mass as they relate to the Orthoptera (crickets, katydids, grasshoppers) and the Phasmatodea (walkingsticks). It addresses the expression, causes and consequences of size in these insects. Topics include: methodological problems in body-size research, gravity vs surface forces, allometry and scaling, Dyar's law, ontogenetic scaling, size-invariant traits and nonallometric scaling, the influence of size on physiology, function, behavior, life history, mating, fecundity, population dynamics, ecology, and community, size-clines, Bergmann's rule, sexual size dimorphism, Rensch's rule, protandry, the environmental, genetic, and physiological control of size, the evolution of size and the influence of size on evolution. Hypotheses are presented to explain why insects remain small in comparison to other taxa.

Phylogeny of the Ensifera (Orthoptera): A Hypothesis Supporting Multiple Origins of Acoustical Signalling, Complex Spermatophores and Maternal Care in Crickets, Katydids, and Weta

Abstract: The orthopteran suborder Ensifera is a group of interest to many biologists because members of several families within this group communicate by sounds. The evolutionary history of singing and other social behaviors of crickets, katydids and weta (Gryllidae, Tettigoniidae and Stenopelmatidae, respectively) are unclear because of different published opinions on the relationships among ensiferan subgroups (Ander 1939, Zeuner 1939, Judd 1948, Ragge1955a, Sharov 1968). These opinions were not based on formal quantitative analyses. I undertook a cladistic analysis of ensiferan families using mainly anatomical characters. The single most parsimonious (shortest-length) tree divides the Ensifera into two clades: the 'tettigonioids' which comprise (((((Tettigoniidae & Haglidae) Stenopelmatidae) Cooloolidae) Gryllacrididae) Rhaphidophoridae), and the 'grylloids' ((Schizodactylidae) (Gryllotalpidae & Gryllidae)) (my parentheses enclose separate clades). I used this phylogeny to construct the most parsimonious hypotheses for the origins of certain social behaviours from those present in the ancestor of extant Ensifera (an insect that used a burrow as a retreat). There were two origins of sound communication using tegminal stridulation and foretibial ears, three to four origins of a complex spermatophore that is eaten by the female and about seven origins of maternal care of eggs and/or nymphs, a trait correlated with loss or reduction in the ovipositor. I review support for the hypothesis of dual origins of tegminal stridulation and tibial ears, complex structures that are usually regarded as homologous within the Ensifera. Crickets, katydids (= long-horned grasshoppers), and weta comprise the Ensifera, one of two suborders of Orthoptera (Table 1). Numerical analyses of orthopteroid insects indicate that the Ensifera is a natural group as taxa in this suborder appear to form a separate clade (monophyletic group) in both cladistic and phe- netic analyses (Blackith and Blackith 1968). The group is usually regarded as phylogenetically quite diverged from the other ortho- pteran suborder, Caelifera, the grasshoppers, locusts, and their

Venation pattern of Orthoptera

Abstract: The revision of several taxa previously attributed to the plesion ‘Protorthoptera’ yielded information about the venation pattern of Orthoptera and the sister-group relationships of Orthoptera. A new wing venation pattern is proposed, i.e., (1) a basal composite stem M + CuA, distally separated into M and CuA; (2) distal free CuA fused with the anterior branch of CuPa (CuPa ‘alpha’). We consider the clade Orthoptera as an apomorphy-based group (sensu Brochu & Sumrall), on the basis of this complex structure and, also by the presence of two branches of MA, MA1 and MA2 (but reversed in some recent taxa, having a MA simple). In the stem group of Orthoptera, the free part of CuA is fused with CuPa, i.e., CuPa is not ramified into CuPa ‘alpha’ and CuPa ‘beta’. Also, MA is simple.

Recent progress in Desert and Migratory Locust management in Africa. Are preventative actions possible

Abstract: Locust control in Africa has been the focus of considerable controversy over the last 15 y. Many control aspects were called into question following the last large plagues of 1987–88 (Desert Locust) and 1996–2000 (Malagasy Migratory Locust): recommended preventative strategy, environmental impact of insecticides used, socioeconomic importance of the locusts. Many projects were launched to improve survey and control methods and find alternative solutions to chemical pesticide treatments. Recent progress is reviewed. Survey and application techniques showed dramatic improvements with GIS, GPS technology and precision spraying. Barrier applications are again available, thanks to new persistent pesticides. Biological control with mycopesticides now appears very promising and undoubtedly the technique will gradually be adopted. The environmental aspects are taken into better account and an IPM approach is now possible. The EMPRES program of FAO is committed to reinforcing national early warning and ea...