Coptacrinae, Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893

Sultana, Riffat & Song, Hojun, 2024, Annotated catalogue of Pakistani Acrididae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acridoidea), Zootaxa 5486 (1), pp. 1-47 : 22

Coptacrinae

( Fig.7 )

Geographical Distribution: Pakistan: Azad Jammu & Kashmir

Comments

Coptacrinae are found in various habitats, mostly confined to open savanna, savanna woodland, and forest clearings and margins in montane to lowland rainforests. Herbaceous species are used as food plants, and several genera seem to prefer or even be confined to genera of the Asteraceae ( Dirsh 1965, Johnsen 1982, Green 1997). During the present expedition, Apalacris varicornis , a single species of Coptacrinae , was reported from Hattian Bala (Azad Jammu & Kashmir), situated 40 km from Muzaffarabad city along the Jhelum River. Hattian Bala serves as the headquarters of the district and tehsil Hattian Bala (AJ&K Statistics 2019). The region is characterized by hilly and mountainous terrain with lush green plains in the Jehlum Valley along the Jehlum River. It shares boundaries with Muzaffarabad and Bagh districts in Azad Kashmir, and with Kupwara and Baramulla districts in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir. The area is accessible by roads connecting it to Muzaffarabad and Bagh districts. Hattain Bala is a collection of lush, green, and beautiful valleys, including Leepa, Reshian, Bharyan, Chikkar, and Chinari, which are renowned and located along the Jehlum River. This specimen was captured from scattered leaves of the Chinar tree ( Platanus orientalis ) in Hattian Bala. Earlier, A. varicornis was reported by Bey-Bienko & Mistshenko (1951) from Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Notably, prior to this expedition, researchers had not reported Coptacrinae in Pakistan. The inclusion of this subfamily in the findings elevates the representation of Pakistani Acrididae to 14 subfamilies.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Melanoplinae, Spathosterninae, Teratodinae, Tropidopolinae, Coptacrinae in various ecological zones of Pakistan