Morphometry of Cornops aquaticum(Orthoptera: Acrididae: Leptysminae) in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

Insects show morphometric variations associated with the environment that may be the result of phenotypic response or genetic inheritance, or both. Thereby, studies that emphasise the variability in body size are very useful for understanding the dynamics and the stability of ecological systems. Cornops aquaticum (Bruner, 1906) (Acrididae) is a semi-aquatic grasshopper, distributed from the southeast of Mexico to the south of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and is intimately associated with the aquatic macrophytes Eichhornia spp. and Pontederia spp. In its wide habitat distribution, C. aquaticum shows variations in its life cycle and morphometric differences that were observed suggesting geographic and host plant influence. Considering these findings, this study aimed to find out the morphometric characteristics of this species at the Pantanal of Poconé -MT, using the protocol of the project "HICWA -Host-Insect Coevolution on Waterhyacinth", as well as to assess possible differences in each stage of development between the sexes and among seasonal periods (flood, high water, low water and dry). During 12 months a total of 600 individuals were collected in monthly collections of 50 grasshoppers, and of this total, 261 were adults and 339 nymphs. The following measurements were taken: total length (A); body length (B); wing length (I) and measurement of the hind femur (H). The results showed that both male and female have different measurements but not correlated with seasonal periods. The average obtained for each character and the seasonality showed the highest values during the flood period. In nymphs, the measurement of the posterior femur presented the lower variation between individuals and characters.Keywords: body size, development, grasshopper, sexual dimorphism, Pantanal. Morfometria de

Diversidade De Gafanhotos (Orthoptera: Acridomorpha) De Uma Floresta Primária Da Amazônia Oriental

“…Atualmente, pouca informação se encontra disponível sobre os Orthoptera de florestas tropicais, embora existam alguns estudos sobre gafanhotos que vivem em associação com plantas aquáticas (BRAGA et al, 2011, FRANCESCHINI et al, 2013FRANCESCHINI, 2014, SILVA et al, 2014 e também que habitam o dossel das florestas. Além disso, Lamarre et al (2012), admitem que as comunidades de gafanhotos de dossel parecem ter maior riqueza do que as do subbosque, o que possivelmente aumenta o nível de desconhecimento da entomofauna, devido à dificuldade para a execução de inventários neste estrato florestal.…”