Two new species of Maculiparia Jago 1980 are described from Panama, one (M. coibensis n. sp) from the Island of Coiba, and another from Darién province (M. embera n. sp.). Both are brachypterous, unlike the previously described M. rotundata Stål, which is common only in the central part of the country.

Hybrid zones may serve as arenas for the evolution of barriers to gene exchange while still allowing the exchange of favorable alleles between species. Differential introgression of linkage groups indicate favored, neutral, and disfavored genomic regions with respect to intrinsic (epistatic interactions, linkage to specific genes) and extrinsic (environmental selection, behavior, ecological interactions) environments. Additionally, the ability of alleles to introgress will depend on hybrid zone structure (opportunity for individuals to interact) and maintenance (criteria for favorable traits). Thus, trait differences that influence local distribution within these hybrid zones contribute to species coexistence and persistence in the face of hybridization. The mosaic hybrid zone between two North American field crickets, Gryllus firmus and G. pennsylvanicus, is structured by underlying soil heterogeneity in Connecticut. Despite this, it is not clear what role soil type plays in maintaining this hybrid zone. A companion study demonstrated that abiotic characteristics of different soil types do not cause significant viability selection on diapausing cricket eggs that overwinter in the soil. Instead, other environmental factors, such as winter weather, play larger roles in egg survival. Here I investigated one biotic factor that potentially has a large effect on egg survival — predation by ants. These results show that when ants are present, egg mortality is dramatic, increasing 2.5 fold against areas without ant infestations. Although not significant, there is some indication that ant activity may vary among sites and soils. Hence, this biotic factor may influence the distribution of cricket species in this hybrid zone and consequently the dynamics of their interactions.

Male prairie mole crickets, Gryllotalpa major Saussure, studied in Oklahoma, sing sexual advertisement songs from constructed burrows in the soil. Here we report on variation in shape of the acoustic burrow mouth not previously described for this or other mole cricket species. We have identified six distinct shapes, of which only the ‘slit’ form has been previously described. Since the surface opening acts as the system ‘radiator’, we hypothesized that variation in the shape would account for at least some of the measured variation documented since 1993 in the songs produced by the population studied. We looked for patterns in the variation of dominant frequency of advertisement calls and maximum amplitude of calls that were linked to shape of burrow openings, but found none. Future work will focus on the role of previously documented weak higher harmonics in the G. major calling song, which might vary with differences in burrow mouth shape.

Two new arboreal katydid species (Pseudophyllinae) were recently discovered from northern Peruvian rainforest canopies using pesticide-fogging methods. Although these two species are in different tribes, they share the distinction of being the smallest of the pseudophylline katydids. One species, belonging to the platyphylliine genus Brachyauchenus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1895, is known only from the male sex and differs from both described species of that genus by its more elongate pronotum, the mother-of-pearl markings on the pronotal disc, and differences in the shape of the male cercus and subgenital plate. The other new species belongs to the pleminiine genus Bufotettix Caudell 1918, but is easily distinguished from B. alpha Caudell by its unusually expanded pronotum and by genitalic characters. Both sexes of this species are described. The occurrence of these species in rainforest canopies suggests that many species of katydids may yet be discovered as this poorly known habitat is studied in more detail.

Three new species from the Western Cape of South Africa are described and figured: Clonaria cederbergensis, Clonaria montana (Diapheromeridae: Pachymorphinae: Gratidiini) and Macynia mcgregororum (Bacillidae: Macyniinae: Macyniini). The first two species have close associations with the Cederberg Wilderness Area and Table Mountain, respectively. M. mcgregororum has been found near Citrusdal. Keys are provided.

We undertook a comparative study in 2004 at Writtle College, Chelmsford, Essex, UK, using box quadrat, open quadrat and transect sampling techniques, to ascertain the significance of emigration and immigration of individuals from survey plots during sampling and the implications for abundance estimation and subsequent calculation of assemblage diversity. Both open quadrat and transect techniques consistently produced underestimates of total Orthoptera density, Chorthippus nymph density and Chorthippus parallelus adult density, when compared to box quadrat sampling, although the differences between techniques were not statistically significant. We suggest that these underestimates of density using the former techniques were due to individuals escaping from the observer during sampling, whereas individuals jumped onto the high sides of the box quadrats.

Both open quadrat and transect monitoring tended to miss the tettigoniids Metrioptera roeselii and Conocephalus discolor, leading to underestimates of species richness when compared to box quadrat sampling. We suggest that if surveyors wish to ascertain bushcricket abundance or species richness at a study site, methods that constrain movement of individuals, such as box quadrats, should be used.

The prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa major Saussure) is a native of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the south central United States. The largest of North American crickets, its populations have declined with the reduced availability of suitable grassland habitat. Prairie mole cricket populations were surveyed at The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma in the spring of 2005. We located 95 acoustic burrows occupied by calling males and recorded the calling songs of 55. We measured 3 morphological characters for 8 of these field-recorded males and characterized each male's calling song for 7 key acoustic variables. Statistically significant relationships were discovered between male body length and 2 song parameters: syllables chirp⁻¹ and dominant frequency.

This research sheds light on the phylogenetic position of the recently described Caribbean species Duartettix montanus. Morphologically most similar to the Melanoplinae, especially the North American genus Melanoplus, it was assigned to that subfamily. The Orthoptera Species File, curiously, assigns Duartettix to the South American tribe Dichroplini. The present molecular phylogenetic analysis of portions of four mitochondrial genes, however, strongly rejects that allocation and instead supports an association with the northern melanoplines. Within the context of an “Out-of-South America” hypothesis proposed earlier for the subfamily's origin, it is speculated that the antecedents of Duartettix arose from ancestors on their northward movement, traversing a series of island arcs that intermittently connected the two Americas during the late Cretaceous. Of possible taxonomic interest, phylogenetic information is also provided for a number of South American melanoplines, notably members of the tribe Jivarini, which have not been previously analyzed using molecular methods.

The northern Great Plains of North America has experienced a number of severe grasshopper infestations over the last 100 y. Grasshopper densities have been observed to be in synchrony over vast geographical areas. Weather is probably the most significant factor that affects fluctuations in population abundance of Melanoplus sanguinipes, the migratory grasshopper. Inferential modeling was used to develop a bioclimatic model of M. sanguinipes that closely agreed with current distribution and abundance patterns of this species in North America over a 30-y period. Incremental climate change scenarios were then applied to the bioclimatic model to predict changes to potential distribution and relative abundance of M. sanguinipes, resulting from climate change. Compared to predicted range and distribution under current climate conditions, model results indicated that M. sanguinipes would have increased range and relative abundance for temperature increases between 1 and 7°C. The model predicted that the range of this crop pest would be extended to regions that are not currently used for agricultural production in North America.

The genus Taxiarchus, reinstated by Jago (1989), is revised, incorporating characters derived from the female genitalia. The outcome is to synonomize the genus with Proscopia Klug 1820, as has previously been suggested on the basis of external morphology alone.

However, these new characters and Jago's restrictive definitions of the proscopiid genera Taxiarchus have the effect of allowing this synonomy only for some species of Proscopia, leaving the other species originally described under that genus now belonging to other genera, which will be erected later in another paper.

In this work the boundaries of the genus Proscopia are defined for both sexes, Taxiarchus is synonomized with Proscopia, and two new species are described.

The gomphocerine grasshoppers, comprising over 1000 species, occur on all continents excepting Australia and Madagascar. This work provides an independent examination of previous accounts of their taxonomic relationships and intercontinental connections, focusing on selected North American and Eurasian taxa. Our study is based on portions of four mitochondrial genes (coding for cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase subunits I and II, and NADH dehydrogenase subunit V) which were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed using weighted and unweighted maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Maximum resolution was achieved using weighted parsimony (counting transversions at third codon positions only) and Bayesian methods, and treating all four sequences, totalling 1892 bp, as a unit. The subfamily is provisionally accepted as monophyletic. The tribe Chrysochraontini is monophyletic, whereas the monophyletic status of Aulocarini and Dociostaurini is unclear. Tribes, Arcypterini, Chorthippini and Gomphocerini, are not monophyletic and require further scrutiny. Regarding biogeographic origins of the subfamily, our molecular data generally support Vickery's assertion that there were multiple periods of dispersal, most likely from Eurasia to North America. Assigning the range 50 to 70 Mya to the time of gomphocerine divergence, we provide estimates of the times of these biogeographic events.

Aerotegmina shengenae is described from the montane forests of the South Pare Mts of Tanzania. A habitat description is given and co-occurring Saltatoria registered. By the morphology of the acoustical chamber, A. shengenae is more primitive than A. kilimandjarica. Speciation processes are discussed for Aerotegmina species.

Orthoptera songs are widely used for the description and diagnosis of new species. Most of the corresponding sound recordings are in analogue format (tapes), widely scattered among institutions, and only a small fraction is accessible as an organized collection (‘phonothek’). Approximately 12,000 Orthoptera sound recordings, representing about 4,000 species from all biogeographic regions, have been digitized and stored in a database during the DORSA project (Digital Orthoptera Specimen Access –  www.dorsa.de). Together with images and collection data of voucher specimens, the DORSA serves as a ‘Virtual Museum’, summarizing distributed collections and phonotheks from several German researchers and institutions. A subset of recordings was used to develop automatic sound recognition tools, by using neural networks fed by acoustic parameters. Relevant parameters, such as carrier frequency and pulse repetition rate, were determined by a special software module, which could then be used to extract those features from all cricket songs hitherto available in the DORSA database. These parameters were then added as annotations to the individual song recordings within the database. The enriched database tables were analysed, revealing outliers due to low-quality recordings or misidentification, permitting a cleaning of the data. For recordings from a limited geographic range, pulse intervals and carrier frequency are sufficient to identify plausible matchings between archived songs and new sound recordings.