Eurycorypha varia, Brunner von Wattenwl

Hemp, Claudia Hemp Klaus-Gerhard Heller Elżbieta Warchałowska-Śliwa Beata Grzywacz Andreas, 2013, Biogeography, ecology, acoustics and chromosomes of East African Eurycorypha Stål species (Orthoptera, Phaneropterinae) with the description of new species, Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 13 (3), pp. 373-395 : 390-391

Diagnosis Male E. varia Brunner von Wattenwl possess an unmodified last abdominal tergite and decussate rather short female ovipositor. h Female subgenital plate. Arrow points on characteristic processes lateral of subgenital plate, typical for female E. varia Brunner von Wattenwyl and at their base stout cerci ( Fig. 14e). The subgenital plate of the males is elongate with two short styli and parallel ridges leading to the styli ( Fig. 14f). Similar last abdominal tergites are found in E. cereris (Stål, 1857) from Natal, E. cuspidata Krauss, 1909 from southwest Africa and E. diminuta Chopard, 1938 from northern Kenya. In E. cereris (Stål, 1857) the posterior margin of the last abdominal tergite is more rounded at the lateral edge, while the edges are more acute in E. varia Brunner von Wattenwyl. Eurycorypha cuspidata Krauss, 1909 has a more undulating posterior margin of the last abdominal tergite and, medially, a v-shaped indentation. The cerci are more slender and undulating at their tips. E. diminuta Chopard, 1938 has a last abdominal tergite with a more deeply medially incised posterior margin than found in E. varia Brunner von Wattenwyl. All four species also resemble each other in the general morphology of the habitus and have adjacent distribution centers, and may well be closely related to each other.

Ecology and biology Adults in January ( Sjöstedt 1909). Males attracted to light ( Chopard and Kevan 1954). Adults found from September to April; many nymphs in December; feeding on Agauria salicifolia at the lower border of the montane forest at the southern slopes; in captivity feeding on Morus sp. and Rubus sp.

A male and a female of E. varia Brunner von Wattenwyl mated twice in captivity at an interval of 2 weeks (held separately in the meantime). The body mass of the male before mating was 464–466 mg, that of the female 778–796 mg. During mating, the male transferred a spermatophore of 12.9– 14.2 % of his body mass to the female, including a relatively large ampulla of 7.7 % of his body mass (both matings).

Habitat Thorn bush country ( Chopard and Kevan 1954); plantation belt southwest Kilimanjaro ( Sjöstedt 1909); Hemp 2005b; sub-montane and montane coffee–banana plantations, sub-montane and montane forest on Mount Kilimanjaro ( Table 2).

Remarks Further material was studied in the NHM London, UK, that varies slightly in the male genitalia, but is labelled E. varia Brunner von Wattenwl : 1 male, Prot St. Johns ( South Africa); 1 male, South Africa; 2 males, Natal ( South Africa); 1 male, Grand Comore ( Comoro islands); 1 male, Bwamba, Uganda.