''Oecanthus dulcisonans'' is a species of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

sparsely but widely distributed in the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

and in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Distribution and habitat

The species can be found in several Thyrrhenian coastal regions of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, as well as in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. ''O. dulcisonans'' was originally reported from Saudi Arabia and is present also in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. In the Mediterranean area, its range overlaps that of its congener ''O. pellucens''. According to some studies, ''O. dulcisonans'' sings preferentially from trees while ''O. pellucens'' seems to prefer high grass such as the vegetation growing along the small streams. This thermophilic and heliophilic species is not particularly demanding, and can be found both in wet and in xeric environments.

Description

The adult males grow up to long, while females reach . The overall color is yellowish. Long forewings cover entirely the abdomen, hind wings are decidedly longer. It can be distinguished from ''O. pellucens'' by its bigger size, by the different shape of the sternal plate, and by the male genitalia. The morphological differences were investigated by Cordero et al. Its namesake song is among the most useful characters to recognize ''O. dulcisonans'' form ''O. pellucens'': the strong and melodious trill of the former is continuous, as opposed to the equal, discrete 0.5sec - 1sec trills of ''O. pellucens''. Furthermore, peak frequency by ''O. dulcisonans'' is slightly higher. Both species are difficult to locate by the unaided ear: the insect can vary the elevation of the forewings making difficult to identify the provenance of the sound, reverberated by the high grass or by the reeds.

Biology

''O. dulcisonans'' is omnivorous but mainly zoophagous, and is more active at night. Adults appear in July / August and their song can be heard until early autumn. Eggs are deposed into the stem of various herbaceous plants. Its shape and color make captures difficult, but it can be attracted to artificial light. This species is most probably underrecorded due to its elusiveness and its similarity with ''O. pellucens''.

Gallery

Oecanthus dulcisonans 2013 08 17 RiuBillittu Sardinia.jpg, A specimen collected in Fluminimaggiore, Sardinia on 17 August 2013

References

Bibliography

* Brizio, C. & Buzzetti F.M. 2014
Biodiversity Journal, 2014, 5 (1): 25–38
>> Ultrasound recordings of some Orthoptera from Sardinia (Italy) * Gorochov d. 1993. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 13:90 – urn:lsid:Orthoptera.speciesfile.org:TaxonName:26112 * Ingrisch. 1999. Esperiana 7:352 >> Orthopteroid insects of Yemen – * Schmidt G.H. & Herrmann M., 2000. Boll. Soc. Sarda Sci. Nat.,32: 83-128. >> Occurrence and distribution of Orthopteroidea, Blattoptera, Mantodea, Phasmodea and Dermaptera in Sardinia/Italy.

External links

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Page with an audio sample of ''Oecanthus dulcisonans''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q10607194 Insects described in 1993 dulcisonans Orthoptera of Europe