Search

Being nocturnal, hiding in prickly bushes and shrubs during the day, Eupholidoptera species in Crete and its neighbouring islands are easily overlooked, and until now our knowledge about their distribution was based on some thirty sightings across 11 species. In this paper results are presented of a study of Eupholidoptera specimens collected between 1987 and 2020 by hand-catches and pitfall and fermenting traps on the Greek islands of Crete, Gavdos, Gavdopoula, and Andikithira. Diagnostic features of all known species are presented and illustrated with stacked images. An updated key to all species is provided. Eupholidoptera francisae Tilmans & Odé, sp. nov. from Andikithira and southwestern Crete and Eupholidoptera marietheresae Willemse & Kotitsa, sp. nov. from Mt. Dikti are described. Female E. cretica, E. gemellata, and E. mariannae are described, and the female of E. astyla is redescribed. Bioacoustics for E. francisae Tilmans & Odé, sp. nov., E. giuliae, and E. jacquelinae are presented for the first time. Eupholidoptera smyrnensis is reported for the first time from Crete. A substantial amount of new distribution data for Eupholidoptera species on Crete is presented. The current distribution pattern and first analyses of phylogeny based on molecular data of Eupholidoptera species on Crete are discussed in relation to paleogeographical events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Males of most bushcricket species produce acoustic advertisement signals to attract females for mating. These signals can also increase conspicuousness to predators. In the genus Poecilimon (Orthoptera: Phaneropterinae) males are attacked by the parasitoid fly Therobia leonidei (Diptera: Tachinidae: Ormiini) which locates males by their calls. In Greece T.leonidei parasitizes several Poecilimon species with different song structures: we examined whether host choice is related to song structure by comparing parasitism rates in two closely related Poecilimon species. One of these species produces monosyllabic songs, the songs of the other species being polysyllabic. The tachinid fly parasitized the polysyllabic species to a greater extent. We demonstrate in a field-experiment that this preference for the polysyllabic species does not depend on local adaptations of the fly. The most probable explanation for the preference of the fly for the polysyllabic singing species seems to be better detection of longer songs. This result is discussed in the context of male song evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poecilimon Fischer (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) consists of about 130 species and a functional taxonomy of the genus requires arranging species into phylogenetic groups. However, this is a task that requires detailed empirical testing. This paper documents data on Poecilimon species with an inflated pronotum. The Poecilimon (Poecilimon) inflatus group is a lineage ranging along a narrow zone in the south-west corner of Anatolia and in Crete plus some other Aegean islands. By producing data of morphology and calling songs of males and responding songs of females the composition and intra-group diversity of P. inflatus group are studied. Both morphology and male calling and female responding songs, exhibited a considerable intra-group diversity. In the light of data obtained the following nomenclatural changes were made. The genus Parapoecilimon Karabağ, 1975 syn. n. is synonymised with Poecilimon Fischer and Parapoecilimon antalyaensis Karabağ, 1975 is given a new combination, Poecilimon antalyaensis (Karabağ, 1975) comb. n. Four new taxa are described in the group: (i) Poecilimon isopterus sp.n.; (ii) Poecilimon inflatus lyciae subsp. n.; (iii) Poecilimon antalyaensis myrae subsp. n., and (iv) Poecilimon antalyaensis anemurium subsp. n. The Poecilimon (P.) inflatus species group consists of the following species: (i) Poecilimon inflatus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1891; (ii) Poecilimon martinae Heller, 2004; (iii) Poecilimon cretensis Werner, 1903; (iv) Poecilimon antalyaensis (Karabağ, 1975) comb. n.; (v) Poecilimon bilgeri Karabağ, 1953 and (vi) Poecilimon isopterus sp.n. The species group is defined by a combination of characters including the pronotum inflated in metazona and a male cerci mostly black in their apical 1/2-1/3. The male calling song has typically two types of short syllables and the females respond acoustically with very short latency times. By using combination of morphology and song data we suggest three main lineages in the group: (i) P. bilgeri, (ii) P. antalyaensis and (iii) the other four species.