Vestria punctata ( Redtenbacher, 1891 )

Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA: The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, : 105-107

Vestria punctata ( Redtenbacher, 1891)

Figs. 28 A-E, 36D, 47A-B, 58A-B, Map 12

1891 Redtenbacher, Monogr. Conoceph.: 348 >> Exocephala ; type locality: Panama: Chiriquí; type depository: Instytut Zoologii PAN, Warsaw – holotype male

1912 Karny, in Wytsman, Gen. Ins. 139: 16 >> Moncheca

1927 Hebard, M., Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 52: 345

>> Vestria

Diagnosis

Body relatively slender; both sexes macropterous ( Fig. 28 , 36 D), tegumen smooth. Fastigium of vertex about as long as eye diameter, gap between fastigia of vertex and frons shallow; frons flat; eyes small but strongly protruding. Front femora with spines on both ventral margins. Male cercus strongly flattened laterally, with small inner tooth; ovipositor straight. Facial markings striking.

Description (male except where specified)

Head.— Fastigium of vertex about as long as eye diameter, approximately triangular when seen from above, with small tubercles at base dorsally ( Fig. 28 C); gap between fastigium of vertex and fastigium of frons small. Eyes small relative to size of head, but strongly protruding ( Fig. 28 B). Frons flat, smooth; tegumen of head smooth, with weak traces of genal carinae; face with sides slightly convex.

Thorax and wings.— Dorsal surface of pronotum smooth, shiny, cut by three transverse sulci; metazona slightly raised; anterior dorsal margin straight, posterior one weakly convex ( Fig. 28 C); lateral lobes with posterior angle rounded and with well developed humeral incision. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, elliptical, completely hidden under lateral lobe of pronotum; posterior edge of spiracle with small, rounded flap. Prosternum unarmed; mesosternum with basisterna approximately triangular, almost vertical, with short apical spines; metasternum unarmed, without well developed lobes.

Wings in both sexes fully developed, surpassing apices of hind femora ( Fig. 28 A). Stridulatory apparatus of male small but well developed, membranous, without secondary veinlets; stridulatory file curved at its distal end ( Figs. 47 A-B), with 175 teeth, evenly tapering on both ends; stridulatory teeth relatively thin and wide. Mirror on right wing small, nearly circular. Posterior margin of front wing straight; apex of front wing broadly rounded.

Legs.— Fore coxa with an elongate, forward projecting spine dorsally; mid and hind coxa unarmed. All femora unarmed dorsally; anterior femora armed ventrally on both margins with short but prominent spines (5 spines on anterior and 6 spines on posterior margin; spines on anterior margin distinctly larger); mid femora armed on anterior ventral margin with 5-6 spines and 1-3 spines at base of posterior ventral margin; hind femora armed only with 3 small spines on anterior ventral margin below knee; only anterior genicular lobes of fore and mid femora armed, lobes of hind femora armed on both sides. Tympanum on fore tibia bilaterally closed, tympanal slits facing forward; tympanal area distinctly swollen, with pair of small pits below tympanal slits; middle tibia unarmed dorsally, ventrally armed on both margins; hind tibia armed on all four dorsal and ventral margins; apex of hind tibia with two pairs of ventral and one pair of dorsal movable spurs.

Abdomen.— Dorsal surface of abdominal terga smooth, unmodified. Male 10th tergite unmodified; supraanal plate simple, triangular; female 10th tergite simple, unmodified. Male cercus strongly compressed laterally, with small tooth situated on small, inner lobe ( Fig. 28 D). Subgenital plate of male longer than wide, with a pair of long styli and deep, narrow, triangular incision on hind margin; female subgenital plate about as wide as long, truncated apically.

Concealed genitalia of male with phallic membrane forming poorly sclerotized titillators ( Fig. 28 E). Ovipositor about as long as hind femur (ratio ovipositor/hind femur 0.98-1.09), nearly straight; both dorsal and ventral margins of ovipositor smooth, parallel, narrowing towards apex; apex of ovipositor acute.

Coloration.— General coloration pale green, with pronotum and dorsum of head brown to dark olive green, and legs yellowish brown ( Fig. 36 D). Facial markings striking: frontal part of fastigium of vertex, scapi, and most of upper portion of frons white, lower portion of face dark green, and clypeus, labrum and mandibles yellow ( Fig. 28 B). Dorsal part of pronotum with two prominent, white spots in metazona. Fore femora black ventrally; mid and hind femora light brown but with black ventral spines; sometimes mid and hind femora with elongate black spots on their inner surfaces; hind tibia with all dorsal spines black. Tegmina light green, sometimes with small, dark dots and patches in apical half; hind wings clear. Abdomen green dorsally, yellow on sides, and with black spot at margin of each tergite. Ovipositor yellowish-brown, with lower edge of upper valvula dark brown to black.

Measurements (4 males, 3 females) (in mm). — body with wings: male 41.2-45.8, 44±2.1, female 47.9-48.9, 48.5±0.5; pronotum: male 5.5-6.4, 6±0.4, female 6.3-6.8, 6.5±0.3; tegmen: male 33.7-36.3, 35.4±1.2, female 39.9-41, 40.4±0.6; hind femur: male 11.8-13.1, 12.5±0.5, female 14-14.5, 14.2±0.3; ovipositor: female 13.8-15.2, 14.5±0.7.

Bioacoustics.— The call of this species consists of irregularly produced bouts of individual, discontinuous chirps, produced at the rate of 4 to 5 per second at 25°C ( Figs. 58 A-B). Each chirp lasts 84.1 to 99.9 ms, and is probably produced by opening, closing, and again opening of the wings. Most of the energy of the call is allocated between 7 and 13 kHz, although the presence of the energy at the higher end of the spectrum cannot be ruled out.

Distribution.— V. punctata occurs throughout Costa Rica and Panama. A specimen of this species from the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, labeled “Alto- Amazonas ” has probably been mislabeled.

Material examined.— COSTA RICA: Alajuela Prov., Puesto Quebradón, elev. 300 m, 1 - 31 August 1997 (coll. G. Rodríguez) - 1 female ( INBio); Guanacaste Prov., Estac. Pitilla, 9 km S. Santa Cecilia, elev. 700 m, 15 June 1994 (coll. C. Moraga) - 1 female ( INBio); same locality, 1 - 30 June 1996 (coll. C. Moraga) - 1 male ( INBio); Estac. Pitilla, 9 km St. Cecilia, elev. 700 m, 15 May 1994 (coll. P. Rios) - 1 male ( INBio); Heredia Prov., Puerto Viejo, La Selva Biological Station, elev. 50 - 150 m, 10° 26' N, 84° 1' W, 17 - 22 February 1994 (coll. P. Naskrecki) - 1 female ( PN collection); same locality, 20 September 1995 (coll. P. Naskrecki) - 1 male ( ALAS ); Limón Prov., Cuatro Esquinas, Tortuguero N. P., elev. 100 m, 15 January 1990 (coll. J. Solano) - 1 female ( INBio); Puntarenas Prov., AC. Osa, Bosque Esquinas , elev. 200 m, 15 May 1994 (coll. M. Segura) - 1 male ( INBio); Estac. Sirena ( ACOSA), elev. 100 m, 6 - 12 April 1995 (coll. A. Picado) - 2 males ( INBio); Península de Osa, Corcovado N. P., Estac. Sirena , 27 March 1981 (coll. D.H. Janzen and W. Hallwachs) - 7 males, 2 females ( INBio, PN collection); Rincón, Osa Peninsula, 7 - 20 February 1967 (coll. H.R. Roberts) - 2 males ( ANSP); Rincón, Osa Peninsula, insecticide in forest btw. Rincón and air strip, 26 February 1966 (coll. H.R. Roberts) - 1 female ( ANSP).

Figures

FIG. 28. Vestria punctata. A. female - habitus, B. female face, C. female head and pronotum, dorsal view, D. male cerci, dorsal and ventral views, E. titillators, posterior view.

FIG. 36. Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Conocephalus angustifrons - male, B. Caulopsis cuspidata - female, C. Acantheremus colwelli - male, D. Vestria punctata - male and female, in copula, E. Copiphora hastata - male, F. Podacanthophorus vargasi - female, G. Copiphora rhinoceros - male eating a snail, H. Subria sylvestris - male, brown form.

FIG. 47. Stridulatory files of Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Vestria punctata, B. ditto, enlarged fragment, C. Moncheca elegans, enlarged fragment, D. ditto, entire file, E. Moncheca pretiosa.

FIG. 58. Oscillograms of male airborne calls of Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Vestria puncta, B. ditto, 0.5 s fragment, C. Subria sylvestris, D. ditto, 0.5 s fragment, E. Subria scutellaris, F. ditto, 0.5 s fragment, G. Podacanthophorus alas, 0.5 s fragment.

MAPS 7 - 12. Distribution of species of Conocephalinae s. l. in Costa Rica. 7. Neoconocephalus affinis, N. triops, 8. Neoconocephalus punctipes, N. cf. spiza, 9. Bucrates capitatus, B. clausus, Metacaputus brenesi, 10. Pyrgocorypha rogersi, P. hamata, 11. Caulopsis cuspidata, C. microprora, 12. Moncheca elegans, M. pretiosa, Vestria punctata.