The life cycle of the Atlantic Beach-Cricket, Pseudomogoplistes vicentae Gorochov, 1996

Abstract

The Atlantic Beach-Cricket, Pseudomogoplistes vicentae, inhabits shingle beaches, with a range that extends from the UK to the Canary Islands. Little is known about the natural history of this species, which is listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable. In the present study, a combination of field sampling (by pitfall trapping and direct searching) in spring, summer, autumn and late winter at two different sites in the UK, together with culturing eggs and nymphs in captivity, was used to determine the life cycle. Eggs laid in August in captivity showed no visible embryonic development until May and hatched the following July. There was no difference in the time taken to hatch between eggs maintained over winter at either 4 or 11 °C. Nymphal instars present in the field indicated that the majority of eggs hatch from June to early August. From October to February in the field, the majority of nymphs were estimated to be at the 7th instar. Development appeared to resume by April and nymphs reached adulthood by July to August in the field, two years after the eggs from which they hatched were likely to have been laid. The number of nymphal instars ranged from 10 to 11 (mode: 11) in males and 11 to 13 (mode: 12) in females. In captivity, most adult males died by the end of November, while 35% of females survived until March. Females preferred to oviposit in driftwood rather than in sand in the laboratory. This fact, together with the early embryonic diapause, suggests that the species might be able to disperse by rafting at the egg stage.

First observations of the Atlantic beach cricket, Pseudomogoplistes vicentae (Grylloidea: Mogoplistidae), in the Basque autonomous community, Spain

“…This may be lethal when the crickets become trapped in food packaging, such as bottles, cans, or boxes. Such trapping is, however, already used in England to monitor P. vicentae populations with pit-fall traps baited with cat biscuits (Gardiner 2009, Vahed 2019). Baited pit-fall traps should be used for a detection campaign of other P. vicentae populations in putative favorable shores of the northern Iberian Peninsula and southern France.…”

“…Closely dependents on this rare habitat and thus having small areas of occupancy, Pseudomogoplistes species are threatened by habitat alteration and destruction. Heavy storm surges, marine pollution (oil spill) and beach excavation are already known to affect local populations in Great Britain (Sutton 2015) and the coming rise of oceans due to climate change is repeatedly cited as a major threat (Sutton 2015, Vahed 2019. Except in Great Britain and France, little is known on the precise distribution of Pseudomogoplistes spp.…”

“…P. vicentae was described by Gorochov (1996) from specimens collected in Morocco and Portugal and is currently considered a vulnerable species in Europe and Great Britain (Hochkirch et al 2016, Sutton 2017) and close to extinction in France (Sardet and Defaut 2004). Its presence is reported in four localities in England and Wales-Branscombe (Devon), Marloes sands and Dale beaches (Pembrokeshire) and Chesil beach (Dorset) (Sutton 2017, Vahed 2019)-as well as in the Channel Islands-Sark and Guernsey (Bourgaize 2019); Northern France, including Brittany and Normandy (Bretagne vivante 2017, Stallegher 2019); and Spain, including the Canary Islands and Asturias Llorente 2001, Kleukers et al 2018). However, on the continental coasts of Spain, only one population has been discovered very recently, i.e., in Asturias (Kleukers et al 2018).…”

Prva potrditev pojavljanja obalnega murna Pseudomogoplistes squamiger (Fischer, 1853) (Orthoptera: Mogoplistidae) v Sloveniji

“…Biologija in ekologija obalnega murna sta slabo poznani, znotraj rodu je več znanja zbranega le za ogroženo sorodno vrsto Pseudomogoplistes vicentae Gorochov, 1996, ki zelo raztreseno naseljuje atlantsko obalo Kanarskih otokov, Maroka, Portugalske, Španije, Francije in Velike Britanije (Vahed 2020, Pelozuelo 2021. Tudi fenologija, ki je pomembna v kontekstu detekcije vrste, je nepopolno poznana.…”

Pseudomogoplistes vicentae Gorochov, 1996 (Orthoptera, Mogoplistidae) nueva especie para el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre de las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia (NO península ibérica)

“…Por u ltimo, tambiè ñ ha sido citado de las islas Canarias (Tenerife, La Palma y El Hierro) por Chopard (1954: 5), Ashmoleet al (1992: 219, sub Mogoplistes squamiger (Fischer)), Kevanet al (1992: 79), citas recogidas por Blandet al (1996: 167) que Gorochov & Llorente (2001: 131) y MORE RE (2021: 25) ponen en duda. Vahed (2019) coñfirma las dudas de aquellos al mencionar de ese archipiè lago, u ñicamèñtè a P. vicentae. Este u ltimo, por el contrario, es un elemento fundamentalmente atla ñtico, conocido de cuatro lugares del Reino Unido (Branscombe, Devon, Pembrokeshire y Dorset), las Islas del Canal (Sark y Guernsey), Francia (Brètañ a y Normañdí a), la costa cañta brica y atla ñtica de Españ a y Portugal, Marruecos, y las Islas Canarias Sutton 1999Sutton : 146, 2015Sutton et al 2017: 22;More re & Livory 1999: 2;Sahnounetal.…”