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Submitted to: Journal of Orthoptera Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 12/17/2002 Publication Date: 2/17/2003 Citation: Nickle, D.A. 2003. A revision of the mole cricket genus scapteriscus with the description of a morphologically similar new genus (orthoptera: gryllotalpidae:scapteriscinae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 129: 411-485 Interpretive Summary: Mole crickets belonging to the genus Scapteriscus are an economically important group of insects, with three species in the United States causing more than $100 million damage annually, primarily to crop seedlings and turf. They have been transported by man through commerce in soil. Because they are ubiquitous and once established in new territories, knowing the species and their native homelands is an important first step in applying classical biological control technology to control them. This paper is the first revision of this group since 1869, and eight new species are described, using morphology, morphometric analysis, and cuticular hydrocarbon analysis to characterize species. This information will be useful to pest managers, biological control workers, turf growers, insect identifiers, and action agencies such as APHIS. Technical Abstract: The mole cricket genus Scapteriscus Scudder, 1869 is revised to include 23 species, 11 of which are described herein as new. Two species, leptodactylus Chopard, 1928 and siangensis Tandon and Shishodia 1972, described from India and Pakistan, are removed from Scapteriscus and placed in a new genus, also described herein as Indioscaptor Nickle. Species of Scapteriscus are defined using both traditional morphological characters a and other medthods of species recognition, including analyses of morphometrics and cuticular hydrocarbons. |
