Truxalis eximia cypria Dirsh, 1950 - Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

Family Acrididae

Truxalis is a genus of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae, subfamily Acridinae and tribe Truxalini. Species can be found in: Africa, the Iberian peninsula, Asia minor through to Indo-China

Habitat:

Truxalis eximia inhabits garigues, dunes, large pastures, fallow land and similar places most often in low altitudes.

Life cycle:

The larva hibernates and the adults appear most often from March or April (e.g. Cyprus), in cooler regions supposedly from May.

Remarks:

Truxalis eximia occurs in Cyprus, the Near East, Asia Minor and further eastwards from S-Russia and Iran to at least India.From http://www.pyrgus.de/Truxalis_eximia_en.html

Photos Geri  by George Konstantinou

Cyprian Stick Grasshopper - Pyrgomorpha cypria Bolívar, I., 1901 - Endemic to Cyprus

 Ενδημικό είδος της Κύπρου.- Endemic to Cyprus.

Family:Pyrgomorphidae

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Pyrgomorpha is the type genus of grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae and the tribe Pyrgomorphini. Species are found in Southern Europe, Africa and the middle East, through to India and Mongolia

Habitat:
Pyrgomorpha cypria inhabits extensively managed habitats of all kinds. It is especially typical for garigues, coastal areas and mountain slopes.

Life cycle:
Most often the larvae are the hibernation stage. The adults usually appear from late February. But adult hibernations are as well reported. But in November 2016 I only recorded larvae. The adults are most common in April and May where they are often the most common species in their habitat.

From http://www.pyrgus.de/Pyrgomorpha_cypria_en.html

Photos Geri  by George Konstantinou

Migratory locust, African Grasshopper - Locusta migratoria (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

 Family:Acrididae

The migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) is the most widespread locust species, and the only species in the genus Locusta. It occurs throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be common in Europe but has now become rare there. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies.

Many other species of grasshopper with gregarious and possibly migratory behaviour are referred to as 'locusts' in the vernacular, including the widely distributed desert locust.

At 6.5 Gbp, the migratory locust possesses one of the largest known insect genomes

The migratory locust is polyphenic. It transitions between two main phenotypes in response to population density; the solitary phase and the gregarious phase. As the density of the population increases the locust transforms progressively from the solitary phase towards the gregarious phase with intermediate phases:

Solitaire = solitary phase → transiens congregans (intermediate form) → gregarious phase → transiens[check spelling] dissocians (intermediate form) → solitaire = solitary phase.

Pigmentation and size of the migratory locust vary according to its phase (gregarious or solitary form) and its age. Gregarious nymphs have a yellow to orange covering with black spots; solitary nymphs are green or brown. The gregarious adult is brownish with yellow, the latter colour becoming more intense and extensive on maturation. The solitary adult is brown with varying extent of green colour depending on the colour of the vegetation. Gregarious adults vary in size between 40 and 60 mm according to the sex; they are smaller than the solitary adults.

The phase transition may be mediated by DNA methylation in the brain. Expression of the DNA methyltrasferase gene Dnmt3 is high in the brain of the gregarious form, decreases in gregarious locusts when they are isolated, and increases in solitary locusts when they are crowded. Knock-down reduces phase-related locomotor activity. Transcriptionally, Dnmt3 is linked with phase-core transcriptional factor, hormone receptor HR3

The migratory locust is an edible insect. In Europe, the migratory locust is officially approved for the use in food in Switzerland (since May 20 On 2 July 2021, the European Food Safety Agency published a scientific opinion stating that the consumption of migratory locust in frozen, dried or ground state is safe for humans. On 12 November 2021, the EU member states gave their green light for the EU Commission to authorize the placing on the market of migratory locust as a food. This is one of the final steps in the novel food authorization procedure. As a next step, the Commission will now adopt a legal act

Photos Geri 26/6/2006 by George Konstantinou

Long-winged conehead - Conocephalus fuscus cyprius (Fabricius, 1793) = Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Family:Tettigoniidae

 Ενδημικό υποεΊδος της Κύπρου - Endemic subspecies of Cyprus

Conocephalus fuscus, the long-winged conehead, is a member of the family Tettigoniidae, the bush-crickets and is distributed through much of Europe and temperate Asia. This bush-cricket is native to the British Isles where it may confused with the short-winged conehead (Conocephalus dorsalis). These two species are phenotypically similar; however, the distinguishing factor between the two is the fully developed set of wings the long-winged conehead possesses that allows for flight. In the short-winged coneheads the hind wings are shorter than the abdomen, causing the wings to be vestigial and the species is incapable of flight. For this reason it is hard to discriminate between the two species during the early stages of their life cycle before the wings have fully developed. The colouration of the conehead is typically a grass green with a distinctive brown stripe down its back, though there are some brown phenotypes. 

Feeding

This species is omnivorous, though its diet is mostly vegetarian. The long-winged conehead feeds primarily on grasses as well as small invertebrates such as aphids and caterpillars.

Behaviour and reproduction

Conocephalus fuscus is active during the day, and their main form of locomotion is walking. However, they use their large hind legs for jumping when under threat of predation

Photos Athalassa  by George Konstantinou 

Mediterranean leaf katydid - Acrometopa syriaca Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 - Cyprus

 Family:Tettigoniidae

Acrometopa is a genus of bush crickets in the subfamily Phaneropterinae; It is typical of the tribe Acrometopini. Species in this genus are found in south-eastern Europe and the Middle East

Habitat:

Acrometopa syriaca inhabits dry and hot places with at least partially higher growing vegetation (e.g. Cistus). In Kalymnos Island (Greece, East Egean), I recorded larvae and adults in high density in a road side verge planted with Nerium oleander.

Remarks:

Acrometopa syriaca occurs from the Greek East Egean Islands across parts of Anatolia to the Near (e.g. Syria and Lebanon), Cyprus and Middle (e.g. Iran) East.

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Photos Athalassa  by George Konstantinou 

Scaly cricket - Pseudomogoplistes squamiger (Fischer, 1853) - Cyprus

 See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Pseudomogoplistes squamiger (Fischer (?), 1853) Της οικογένειας Mogoplistidae. Είναι είδος άπτερου γρύλου της οικογένειας Mogoplistidae (scaly crickets). Στην Κύπρο το είδος εντοπίστηκε για πρώτη φορά στις 8 Φεβρουαρίου 2018, από τον Μιχαήλ Χατζηκωνσταντή, στο Ζύγι της επαρχίας Λάρνακας. Το είδος εντοπίστηκε σε παραλία με μεγάλα χαλίκια και πέτρες.  Μερικά άτομα ήταν κάτω από πέτρες και αρκετά περπατούσαν πάνω σε χαλίκια, λίγα μέτρα από το νερό της θάλασσας.

Pseudomogoplistes squamiger, the scaly cricket, is a species of apterous cricket in the family Mogoplistidae. Long known in the genus Mogoplistes it was placed this genus, for which it became the type species, by AV Gorochov in 1984.

Habitat and Distribution

Usually found near the sea on pebble beaches, its native range is especially in southern Europe and northern Africa, but since the 1960s it has been recorded from Dorset, later found in Devon in the British Isles. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomogoplistes_squamiger

Photos Zygi 8/2/2018 by  Mike Hadjiconstantis

Pfaendler´s Molehopper - Xya pfaendleri (Harz, 1970) - Cyprus

Family:Tridactylidae

Xya is a genus of pygmy mole crickets, with species recorded from Africa, southern Europe, Cyprus, Asia and Australia

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Photos Athalassa  by George Konstantinou 

Modicogryllus pseudocyprius Gorochov, 1996 - Endemic too Cyprus

 Endemic too Cyprus

Family: Gryllidae

Modicogryllus is the type genus of crickets in the tribe Modicogryllini. Species have been recorded from: Europe, Africa, the middle East, temperate and tropical Asia through to Australia and western Pacific islands

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Photos  by George Konstantinou 

Hairy Scale-cricket - Arachnocephalus vestitus Costa, O.G., 1855 - Cyprus

Family: Mogoplistidae

Habitat:

Arachnocephalus vestitus mostly lives in dry shrub and also reeds.

Life cycle:

Arachnocephalus vestitus is cryptical and best observed by beating with an umbrella.

Remarks:

Arachnocephalus vestitus occurs from Southern France across Italy and the Balkans to Asia.

From http://www.pyrgus.de/Arachnocephalus_vestitus_en.html

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Photos  by George Konstantinou 

Platycleis escalerai Bolívar, 1899 - Cyprus

 Family: Tettigoniidae

Habitat:

Platycleis escalerai inhabits dry and hot locations (e.g. garrigues).

Life cycle:

The adults occur early from April or May. They usually live up to the summer drought, but in small numbers sometimes also to early autumn.

Remarks:

Platycleis escalerai occurs from southeasternmost Europe (Greece: especially East Eagean Islands, East Bulgaria, Crimea) across Asia Minor and parts of the Near (Levante including Cyprus) and Middle East to Central Asia.. From http://www.pyrgus.de/Platycleis_escalerai_en.html

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Photos  by George Konstantinou 

Red-winged grasshopper - Oedipoda miniata (Pallas, 1771) - Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Oedipoda miniata, sometimes known as the red-winged grasshopper (although the name is also used for O. germanica), is a grasshopper species in the subfamily Oedipodinae found in Southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle-East.

It was originally described in 1771 as Gryllus miniatus. It is in the Oedipoda caerulescens species group

Oedipoda is a genus of grasshoppers, including the blue-winged grasshopper, Oedipoda caerulescens.

Photos Stavros Psocas 1/7/2018 by George Konstantinou

Oecanthus dulcisonans - Gorochov,1993 - Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Oecanthus is a genus of cricket in subfamily Oecanthinae, the tree crickets.

Oecanthus dulcisonans is a species of cricket sparsely but widely distributed in the Mediterranean Basin and in the Middle East.

Distribution and habitat

The species can be found in several Thyrrhenian coastal regions of Italy, as well as in Sardinia and Sicily. O. dulcisonans was originally reported from Saudi Arabia and is present also in the Canary Islands.

In the Mediterranean area, its range overlaps that of its congener O. pellucens. According to some studies, O. dulcisonans sings preferentially from trees while O. pellucens seems to prefer high grass such as the vegetation growing along the small streams.

This thermophilic and heliophilic species is not particularly demanding, and can be found both in wet and in xeric environments.

Description

The adult males grow up to 13–15 millimetres (0.51–0.59 in) long, while females reach 14–16 millimetres (0.55–0.63 in). The overall color is yellowish. Long forewings cover entirely the abdomen, hind wings are decidedly longer. It can be distinguished from O. pellucens by its bigger size, by the different shape of the sternal plate, and by the male genitalia. The morphological differences were investigated by Cordero et al. 

Its namesake song is among the most useful characters to recognize O. dulcisonans form O. pellucens: the strong and melodious trill of the former is continuous, as opposed to the equal, discrete 0.5sec - 1sec trills of O. pellucens. Furthermore, peak frequency by O. dulcisonans is slightly higher. Both species are difficult to locate by the unaided ear: the insect can vary the elevation of the forewings making difficult to identify the provenance of the sound, reverberated by the high grass or by the reeds.

Biology

O. dulcisonans is omnivorous but mainly zoophagous, and is more active at night. Adults appear in July / August and their song can be heard until early autumn. Eggs are deposed into the stem of various herbaceous plants.

Its shape and color make captures difficult, but it can be attracted to artificial light.

This species is most probably underrecorded due to its elusiveness and its similarity with O. pellucens. .From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Polis 1/7/2018 by George Konstantinou 

Cyprian Marbled Bush-cricket - Eupholidoptera cypria - Ramme, 1951 - Endemic to Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus

Endemic to Cyprus

Eupholidoptera is a genus of bush crickets belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae.

Species belonging to this genus are present in Europe and in the Near East

Photos Pomos 1/7/2018 by George Konstantinou

Myrmecophilus (Myrmophilina) cyprius Stalling, 2017 - Ant crickets - Ant-loving cricket - Cyprus

See also

Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus 

Family: Myrmecophilidae

Male

Female

Myrmecophilus or ant crickets, is a genus of orthopteran insects in the family Myrmecophilidae. This genus contains the majority of symbiotic 'ant-loving' species in this small, obscure family. Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophilus

Myrmecophilus cyprius Stalling, 2017 is an endemic species to Cyprus.  This species descried in 2017 from specimens found from the nests of the ant species Messor structor (Latreille, 1798).  The species belongs to the subgenus Myrmophilina Silvestri, 1912. The specimens photographed were also found from Messor structor nests. 

The family Myrmecophilidae

The ant-loving crickets are rarely encountered relatives of crickets, and are obligate inquilines within ant nests. They are very small, wingless, and flattened, therefore resembling small cockroach nymphs. There are a few genera, containing fewer than 100 species. Ant Crickets are yellow, brown, or nearly black in color. They do not produce sound, and lack both wings and tympanal organs ("ears") on the front tibia. Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_cricket

Ελληνικό Κείμενο

Το Myrmecophilus cyprius Stalling, 2017 είναι ένα ενδημικό είδος γρύλου στην Κύπρο. Το είδος αυτό ανήκει στην οικογένεια Myrmecophilidae. Αυτό το είδος περιγράφηκε το 2017 από δείγματα που βρέθηκαν σε φωλιές του μυρμηγκιού Messor structor (Latreille, 1798). Το είδος ανήκει στο υποείδος Myrmophilina Silvestri, 1912. Τα άτομα που φωτογραφήθηκαν, βρέθηκαν επίσης σε φωλιές του Messor structor.

Η οικογένεια Myrmecophilidae περιλαμβάνει κυρίως είδη που ζουν μέσα στις φωλιές των μυρμηγκιών. Είναι πολύ μικρά, χωρίς φτερά και πεπλατυσμένα, οπότε μοιάζουν με μικρές νύμφες κατσαρίδων. Υπάρχουν λίγα γένη, που περιέχουν λιγότερα από 100 είδη. Το χρώμα τους μπορεί να είναι κίτρινου, καφέ ή σχεδόν μαύρου. Δεν παράγουν ήχο και δεν έχουν τόσο φτερά όσο και ακουστικά όργανα ("αυτιά") στην μπροστινή κνήμη. 

Photos at Lakatamia, October 2017 by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Duroniella lucasii (Bolivar 1881) - Cyprus

See also - Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus 

Duroniella lucasii inhabits various types of habitats like coastal dunes with humid and grassy depressions, wetlands, oases and other grassy and hot habitats.

Duroniella lucasii occurs in parts of Africa (especially in the North) and SW-Asia (especially in the Levant incl. Cyprus, Arabia). In Europe, it is known from Sardinia.

Photos Geri 29/9/2015 by George Konstantinou

White-faced Bush-Cricket - Desticus albifrons (Fabricius, 1775)[1] - Cyprus

See also - Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus 

Decticus is a genus of bush-cricket in the family Tettigoniidae.
Species of this genus are present in Europe, Cyprus .in Asia and in North Africa.

Video 30/4/2016 by George Konstantinou

Yersin's Stone Grasshopper - Orchamus yersini (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882) - Cyprus

Family Pamphagidae

Orchamus yersini inhabits maquis, open woodlands and othe bushy, dry and warm habitats.

Life cycle:

In Samos, I met adults in May 2014. They can be observed only singly in low densities and usually rest on twigs of bushes or truncs. I recorded a female crossing a road.

Orchamus yersini is recorded in a few places in Greece (e.g. Samos, Rhodes, W-Greece), Cyprus  and parts of W-Asia (e.g. Syria). Especially because of closely related taxa the knowledge of its distribution is still incomplete.

Photos Kourio 18/12/2015 by Michael Hadjiconstantis

See also - Λίστα με τα Ορθόπτερα της Κύπρου - ;LIst of Orthoptera of Cyprus 

Photos Chaleuka 27/4/2016 by George Konstantinou