the orthoptera fauna (insecta: orthoptera) from … · moldova, meanwhile the hybrid chorthippus...

Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii „Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi, s. Biologie animală, Tom LIV, 2008

THE ORTHOPTERA FAUNA (INSECTA: ORTHOPTERA) FROM PAŞCANI AND SURROUNDINGS (ROMANIA, IAŞI COUNTY)

Ionuţ Ştefan IORGU

“Al. I. Cuza” University Iaşi, Faculty of Biology, Bd. Carol I 20A, 700505 Iaşi, Romania, [email protected]

Abstract. Paşcani town is located on the western part of Iaşi County, between the rivers Siret and Moldova, this region being a mosaic of ecosystems: grasslands and lawns, decidous and coniferous forests with glades. During our studies on this area, which begun in 2001, there were identified 60 orthoptera species. Among those, 31 species live in town ecosystems. This high number of species is due to the higher temperatures, with 2-3ºC inside the town. The forest Codrii Pascanilor represents the eastern limit for the distribution area of Isophya stysi, so far this species being known from the western and interior parts of the Carpathians Mountains. The species Acheta domestica and Tetrix tuerki are new reportings for Moldova, meanwhile the hybrid Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei is new for Romanian fauna. Keywords: Orthoptera, Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei, faunistics, Paşcani. Rezumat. Fauna de ortoptere (Insecta: Orthoptera) din Paşcani şi împrejurimi (România, judeţul Iaşi) Oraşul Paşcani este situat în partea de vest a judeţului Iaşi, între râurile Siret şi Moldova, zona prezentând un mozaic de ecosisteme: pajişti şi fâneţe, păduri de foioase şi răşinoase cu poieni. Pe parcursul cercetărilor intreprinse în zonă începând cu anul 2001, au fost identificate 60 de specii de ortoptere. Dintre acestea, 31 de specii trăiesc în ecosistemele din oraşul Paşcani. Prezenţa acestui număr ridicat de ortoptere se datorează temperaturii mai ridicate cu 2-3°C în interiorul oraşului. Codrii Paşcanilor reprezintă limita estică a arealului speciei Isophya stysi, până acum specia fiind cunoscută din interiorul arcului carpatic. Speciile Acheta domestica şi Tetrix tuerki sunt la prima semnalare pentru Moldova, iar hibridul Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei este semnalare nouă pentru fauna României. Cuvinte cheie: Orthoptera, Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei, faună, Paşcani.

Introduction Paşcani is located in the western part of Iaşi County, at 1km west from the

river Siret and 10km east from the river Moldova. The surroundings of this town are a mosaic of ecosystems: Populus alba and Salix alba forests at the edges of Siret river (site no. 30 on the map); Carpinus betulus, Robinia pseudacacia and Pinus sylvestris forest with mezophilous and hygro-mezophilous glades (sites no. 1-10 on the map) with: Campanula cochlearifolia, Elymus europaeus, Genista tinctoria, Taraxacum officinale, Achillea millefolium, Bellis perennis, Ranunculus acer, Alopecurus pratensis, Verbascum phlomoides, Lamium album, Poa nemoralis, Poa annua, Poa bulbosa, Bromus hordeaceus, Dactylis glomerata, Trifolium repens, Rubus idaeus, Coronilla varia, Fragaria vesca, Medicago falcata etc., between the town and Moldova river (Codrii Paşcanilor forest); hygrophilous, mezofilous and mezo-xerophilous lawns near the town (sites 11-16, 23-36 on the map) with: Poa nemoralis, Elymus europaeus, Genista tinctoria, Taraxacum officinale, Viola odorata, Agropyrum repens, Bellis perennis, Ranunculus acer, Trifolium sp., Achillea millefolium, Aristolochia clematitis, Poa annua, Bromus hordeaceus, Dactylis glomerata, Setaria viridis, Lepidium ruderale, Festuca sp., Lolium perenne, Cynodon dactylon, Alopecurus pratensis, Verbascum phlomoides, Lamium album, Tusilago farfara, Rosa canina, Prunus spinosa, Typha latifolia, Cynodon dactylon, Dactylis glomerata, Mentha aquatica, Ranunculus sardous, Alopecurus sp., Carex sp., Iris pseudacorus, Juncus effusus, Butomus umbellatus, Alisma

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Ionuţ Ştefan Iorgu

plantago-aquatica etc. The areas studied inside the town are: the parks (sites no. 19 and 21 on the

map) with Carpinus betulus, Morus nigra, Sambucus nigra, Aesculus hippocastanum, Gleditschia faba, Syringa vulgaris, Poa nemoralis, Elymus europaeus, Genista tinctoria, Taraxacum officinale, Viola odorata, Achillea millefolium, Bellis perennis etc.; the railways area (sites no. 18 and 20 on the map) with predominant mezophilous and mezo-xerophilous vegetation: Papaver somniferum, Viola tricolor, Festuca sp. (near the railways there are some hygrophillous small lawns, with Carex sp. and Typha sp.); Fântânele area (site no. 22 on the map) with hygrophilous and mezo-hygrophilous grasslands and lawns: Carex gracilis, Carex riparia, Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, Iris pseudacorus, Juncus effusus, Butomus umbellatus etc. and a few private properties (site no. 17 on the map), with flowers or crops: Zea mays, Trifolium sp., Vitis vinifera Chrysanthemum sp., Rosa sp., Antirrhinum majus, Paeonia festiva, Tulipa sp., Mentha longifolia, Clematis sp., Lonicera nigra etc.

Material and Methods The investigated area has diverse ecosystems from Pascani town and the

surroundings, the collecting zones being shown in Fig. 1. Collecting of the material was made with the entomological net or by hand. The identification was made according to the keys of Bela Kis (1976, 1978) and the papers of Otto von Helversen (1986), Otto von Helversen and Varvara Y. Vedenina (2003, 2007). The species nomenclature was reviewed according to http://osf2.orthoptera.org/HomePage.aspx (online version at 14th of January 2008).

The photos were taken with a Canon A640 digital camera and the stridulations were recorded with a Sony ICD SX 56 digital recorder. The electro-microscopy photos were taken with a Vega Tescan electronic microscope.

Figure 1. Map with the collecting/observing areas in Paşcani and surroundings. The collecting/observing areas marked on the map are:

1-10 – Codrii Paşcanilor sites; 11 – Topile site; 12 – Gâşteşti site;13 – Sodomeni site; 14-16, 23, 34-36 – Paşcani sites (near town); 17-22 – Paşcani sites (inside town); 24 – Lunca site; 25 – Valea Seacă site; 26-33 – Siret sites.

http://osf2.orthoptera.org/HomePage.aspx


Results and Discussion Our studies on the Orthoptera fauna in this area were realized between 2001-

2007 and show a total number of 60 species of Orthoptera, amoung those 31 being observed in town’s ecosystems and 59 species observed in the outside town ecosystems (Table 1 and Fig. 2).

Table 1. Comparison between the Orthoptera species found in Paşcani and in the surroundings

(the numbers from “inside/outside town ecosystems” columns are the numbers marking the collecting areas in Fig. 1; please note that eq. 2-6 is the abbreviation for the sites: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Crt. no.

Species

Inside town ecosystems

Outside town ecosystems

Suborder Ensifera Family Tettigoniidae

1. Phaneroptera falcata 17, 19, 20 1-11, 16 2. Leptophyes albovittata 19, 20 1-11, 16, 23, 30 3. Isophya stysi - 3, 6 4. Isophya zubowskii - 2, 7 5. Barbitistes constrictus constrictus - 2, 6 6. Poecilimon fussi - 2, 3, 6, 10, 30 7. Poecilimon schmidti - 2 8. Meconema thalassinum - 1-9 9. Conocephalus dorsalis 22 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 10. Conocephalus fuscus 18 - 20, 22 1-17, 21-36 11. Ruspolia nitidula - 25, 30 12. Tettigonia viridissima 17 - 22 1-16, 23-36 13. Tettigonia caudata caudata 20 3, 11, 14-16, 24, 30 14. Decticus verrucivorus verrucivorus - 2, 3, 6, 10, 16, 30 15. Platycleis albopunctata grisea - 3 16. Tessellana veyseli - 30 17. Metrioptera bicolor bicolor 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 18. Metrioptera roeselii roeselii - 6, 23-25, 30 19. Metrioptera fedtschenkoi vasilii 18, 22 1-7, 10, 11, 14-16, 23-36 20. Pholidoptera griseoaptera 19, 21 1-10 21. Pachytrachis gracilis - 10 22. Ephippiger ephippiger ephippiger - 6

Family Gryllidae 23. Gryllus campestris 17 - 22 1-16, 23-36 24. Acheta domestica 17 - 25. Melanogryllus desertus 18, 20 2, 3, 10-16, 23, 26-36 26. Modicogryllus frontalis 18, 20 2, 3, 6, 10-16, 23, 26-36 27. Pteronemobius heydenii heydenii - 2 28. Oecanthus pellucens pellucens 17 - 22 1-16, 23-36

Family Gryllotalpidae 29. Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa 17- 22 11, 13-16, 23, 30-36

Suborder Caelifera Family Tridactylidae 30. Xya variegata - 30-33

Family Tetrigidae 31. Tetrix subulata 18, 22 2, 10, 16, 23-36 32. Tetrix undulata - 2-4, 10, 16 33. Tetrix bipunctata bipunctata - 2-6, 10, 11, 16, 30 34. Tetrix tenuicornis 18, 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 35. Tetrix tuerki - 30, 31

Family Acrididae 36. Calliptamus italicus italicus 18, 20 2, 3, 10-12, 29, 30 37. Pezotettix giornae - 16, 30 38. Stethophyma grossum 22 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 39. Aiolopus thalassinus thalassinus 18, 22 23-36


Crt. no.

Species

Inside town ecosystems

Outside town ecosystems

40. Paracinema tricolor bisignata - 25, 30 41. Oedipoda caerulescens caerulescens 18, 20 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 26, 29, 30 42. Sphingonotus caerulans caerulans 18, 20 2, 10, 11, 29, 30 43. Euthystira brachyptera brachyptera - 1-10 44. Chrysochraon dispar dispar - 2, 3, 6 45. Dociostaurus brevicollis - 10, 30 46. Stenobothrus stigmaticus stigmaticus 22 1-3, 10, 11, 16, 29, 30-36 47. Stenobothrus lineatus lineatus 18, 19, 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 48. Stenobothrus nigromaculatus nigromaculatus - 2, 10 49. Omocestus rufipes 17, 18, 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 50. Omocestus haemorrhoidalis haemorrhoidalis - 10, 16 51. Gomphocerripus rufus - 6, 10 52. Chorthippus apricarius apricarius 20 1-11, 16 53. Chorthippus biguttulus hedickei 17 - 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 54. Chorthippus brunneus brunneus 17 - 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 55. Chorthippus mollis mollis - 16, 30 56. Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei 17 - 20, 22 1-4, 6-16, 23-36 57. Chorthippus dorsatus dorsatus - 2, 10 58. Chorthippus parallelus parallelus 17 - 20, 22 1-16, 23-36 59. Euchorthippus pulvinatus pulvinatus - 30 60. Euchorthippus declivus 22 2, 3, 10, 16, 23, 26, 29, 30

Total species 31 59

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Inside town Outside town

Figure 2. Orthoptera species presence in both inside and outside town ecosystems.


Among the most interesting species, we can find: Isophya stysi Cejchan, 1958 - a praticolous and arbusticolous species, whose

distribution area is in the Carpathian Basin: Slovakia, Eastern Hungary, Romania, Poland, Ukraine. The presence of this species in a forest glade at Codrii Pascanilor (47º15’31”N 26º37’34”E, 376m altitude) is remarkable and represents the eastern-most point of this species areal (Figs. 9, 10).

Metrioptera fedtschenkoi vasilii (Goetz, 1969) - an endemic subspecies for the eastern Romania and Moldavia; a typical praticolous species for higrophylous and mezo-hygrophilous grasslands in Pascani area (Figs. 11, 12).

Acheta domestica (Linné, 1758) - a synanthropic, cosmopolitan species, can be easily located by listening to its stridulation, usually emitted in the evening and at night. Among the studied species in Pascani area, this is the only one that can be found only inside town. It is the first time that this species is reported for Moldavia (Figs. 13, 14).

Tetrix tuerki (Krauss, 1866) - a terricolous, central and south-european species, prefers the stony river bed, especially in the mountains. Its presence on the sandy and stony shores of Siret river in a hilly zone is interesting. Like the former species, Tetrix tuerki is also a new report for Moldavia (Figs. 14, 15).

Chorthippus albomarginatus × oschei (Figs. 16, 17) - an interesting hybrid between the species Chorthippus oschei Helversen, 1986 and Chorthippus albomarginatus (De Geer, 1773) is a first report for Romanian fauna, replacing the species Chorthippus albomarginatus from our country faunistic list (in the northeastern part we can find this hybrid, meanwhile in the southern and western parts of Romania, C. albomarginatus is replaced by C. oschei). The areal for Chorthippus albomarginatus is in the northern and the western part of Europe, meanwhile the Chorthippus oschei’s areal is in the Balcan Peninsula (Helversen et Vedenina, 2003). In our country there is a hybridation zone between the two species areal, in the eastern and north-eastern part of the Carpathian Mountains. So far the studies made by Otto von Helversen and Varvara Vedenina have revealed the presence of this hybrid in some localities in Ukraine and Republic of Moldavia.

Due to the sophisticated courtship song, the two species could be easily separated. The hybrids have also complex courtship songs, intermediate between the parent species songs (Fig. 6). These species can also be separated by the hind legs diferent movement during the courtship song (Fig. 4).

Figure 3. Hind leg highest position of a hybrid Figure 4. Highest positions of the hind legs the male during the courtship song, recorded courtship song of: a. Chorthippus albomarginatus; near Paşcani. b. Chorthippus oschei; c., d. hybrid (V. Vedenina & O. von Helversen, 2003).


During our researches, the studied individuals result to be hybrids between the Chorthippus albomarginatus and Chorthippus oschei, singing an intermediate courtship-song and showing the specific hind legs movement for the hybrids recorded by V. Vedenina and O. von Helversen in Ukraine and Republic of Moldavia (Figs. 3; 5).

Figure 5. Oscillogram representing the Figure 6. Transitions from a the pure courtship song of a male hybrid recorded albomarginatus courtship song to f the pure near Paşcani oschei song through b-e intermediate variants-hybrids (V. Vedenina & O. von Helversen, 2003, modified)

Figure 7. Stridulatory pegs situated on the inner side of hind femur in a hybrid male collected near

Paşcani.

Figure 8. Stridulatory pegs situated on the inner side of hind femur in Chorthippus albomarginatus

(alb) and Chorthippus oschei (osch) (V. Vedenina et al., 2007, modified).

Figure 9. Isophya stysi ♀ (Codrii Paşcanilor, Figure 10. Isophya stysi ♂ (Codrii Paşcanilor,

21.06.2007). 21.06.2007).


Figure 11. Metrioptera fedtschenkoi vasilii ♀ Figure 12. Metrioptera fedschenkoi vasilii ♂

(Paşcani, 12.07.2007). (Paşcani, 12.07.2007).

Figure 13. Acheta domestica ♀ (Paşcani, 30.08.2007). Figure 14. Acheta domestica ♂

(Paşcani, 30.08.2007).

Figure 15. Tetrix tuerki ♀ (Siret, 31.07.2007). Figure 16. Tetrix tuerki ♂ (Siret, 31.07.2007).


Figure 17.Chorthippus albomarginatus×oschei Figure 18.Chorthippus albomarginatus×oschei ♀ (Paşcani, 22.07.2007). ♂ (Codrii Paşcanilor, 01.08.2007).

Conclusions The number of the Orthoptera species encountered in the town ecosystems is

considerably lower than in the outside town ecosystems. There are some dominant species: Tettigonia viridissima, Oecanthus pellucens, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, Chorthippus biguttulus, found very often in the canopy and green spaces.

Also, there are some rare interesting species which adapted well to the town conditions: Oedipoda caerulescens, Sphingonotus caerulans (in the railway area), Phaneroptera falcata (in the park and the private properties) or Metrioptera fedtschenko, Stethophyma grossum and Conocephalus dorsalis (in the Fantanele hygrophilous grasslands).

Aknowledgements I want to thank Dr. Varvara Y. Vedenina for her help with the confirmation of

the hybrid Chorthippus albomarginatus×oschei, to Elena Pisica and Adrian Derscariu for the help during the collecting field-trips and to Mr. Dumitru Răileanu for making the electromicroscopy photos.

References

Helversen, O. von, 1986. Gesang und Balz bei Feldheuschrecken der Chorthippus albomarginatus - Gruppe (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Zool. Jahrb. Syst. 113: 319-342.

Kis, B., 1976. Cheie pentru determinarea ortopterelor din România. Partea I Subord. Ensifera. Muzeul Brukenthal Şt. Nat. – Stud. şi Com., XX: 123-166.

Kis, B., 1978. Cheie pentru determinarea ortopterelor din România. Partea II Subord. Caelifera. Muzeul Brukenthal Şt. Nat. – Stud. şi Com., XXII: 233-276.

Vedenina, V. Yu., Helversen, O. von, 2003. Complex Courtship in a Bimodal Grasshopper Hybrid Zone. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 54: 44-54.

Vedenina, V.Yu., Panyutin, A.K., and Helversen O. von, 2007. The Unusual Inheritance Pattern of the Courtship Songs in Closely Related Grasshopper Species of the Chorthippus albomarginatus - Group (Orthoptera: Gomphocerinae). J. Evol. Biol. 20: 260-277.

Eades, D. C., Otte, D. Orthoptera Species File Online. Version 2.0/3.2, cited 14th of January 2008. http://osf2.orthoptera.org.

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