A revision of the genus Zoniopoda is made on the basis of the material of several museums and also on that collected by the author. The genus as known at present is a rather small one, with nine valid species described from 1831 to the present, and an additional species described here. Among the names in the literature for species of this genus, three are here considered to be junior synonyms. This generic name has also been used for three species now placed in other genera. Species in this genus are of medium size, and fairly similar in form. They are divided in this text into two groups: the species in one of them have very distinctive colors and color-patterns, while those in the other are all rather uniformly colored green, and can be told apart only by some rather slight differences.

All known species of this genus live in the southern part of South America, east of the Andes. Among the romaleine genera, Zoniopoda seems most closely related to Chariacris Walker 1870 and Diponthus Stål 1860, from which, however, it can be readily separated by some evident characters. All the species of the genus are illustrated, both in habitus and in some taxonomically important details.

Several species of mantids perform defensive displays during close-range encounters with predators. In adult Mantis religiosa, this display entails both visual and acoustic components, the latter being abdominoalary stridulation. Stridulatory modifications of the abdomen and hindwings and acoustic properties of the defensive sounds of M. religiosa are characterized here for the first time. Defensive sounds are generated via an abdominoalary mechanism involving contact between teeth found on the longitudinal veins of the metathoracic wings and pegs located on the abdominal pleura. Defensive stridulation in M. religiosa is highly variable in both spectral and time domains. Inter-individual variability may be stochastically greater than intra-individual variability for at least one acoustic parameter (peak frequency). The loudest portion of a sound emission (syllable), or down-pulse, has an average duration of 195 ms and features an abrupt rise to maximum amplitude. Inter-syllabic intervals are irregular and rate of syllable production depends on a mantid's sex. The acoustic output of M. religiosa is nonresonant, broadband, and of relatively low intensity. A minor ultrasonic component may be present in the spectra of these mantids (particularly in males). The modal peak frequency range (4 kHz interval) is 8-12 kHz (mean range ∼7.4-9.4 kHz). Acoustic parameters which appear to vary between the sexes and/or among females at different reproductive stages, may be related to the sexual size dimorphism of this species and morphological constraints associated with egg-bearing. The acoustic output of M. religiosa is considered with reference to its intended receivers and plausible mechanisms of predator deterrence.

In order to test the hypothesis that parents influence offspring body size, crosses between male and female Schistocerca americana of various sizes were made in the laboratory. Measurements of the offsprings' body characteristics were made after every instar. No correlation was found between the mother's characteristics and that of her offspring; however, paternal size was positively correlated with adult offspring body size. Other studies have shown that variation in the size of both males and females significantly affects reproductive success. Thus, the current study is significant in that a father can influence his offsprings' adult size.

Male and female nymphs of Heteracris littoralis were topically treated with serial concentrations of azadirachtin. Effects on mortality, development, oogenesis and spermatogenesis were observed. Mortality was dose-dependent; fourth and fifth instars died about the time of ecdysis. Overaging took place at low concentrations. Ovaries in treated adult females showed complete shrinkage with abolished oocyte growth, and the number of deposited egg pods/female decreased from 4 to 9 in normal females, to 1 to 3 pods in treated insects. Deformation in sperm tubes was observed in treated males. Electronmicrographs revealed disintegration and destruction in follicular cells and mitochondria in females. In males the testicular epithelia and the spermatids completely disintegrated. Treatment with higher doses inhibited cyst formation around the spermatogonia.

Until now, of the total 53 or so species of cave crickets in the genera Troglophilus Krauss 1879 and Dolichopoda Bolivar 1899, seven are known from Turkey. Collecting journeys in 2000 and 2001 allowed us to obtain samples from the Pontic Mountains (northeastern Turkey). Based on this material, we now describe two new species, one for each of the above genera. Dolichopoda noctivaga sp. n. is very closely related to the transCaucasian species D. euxina and D. hyrcana, but can be distinguished from them by the shape of the epiphallus, rounded not truncate apically, by the occurrence of styli on the male subgenital plate, and by the unemarginate apex of the female subgenital plate. The second newly discovered species, Troglophilus tatyanae sp. n., differs from all other Turkish species in the uniformly brown coloration of its body, and by its small size — the smallest species known for the genus Troglophilus. Both T. tatyanae and D. noctivaga are apparently limited to the Black Sea region of northeast Turkey. D. noctivaga has been found in four localities scattered across the Pontic Mountains. By contrast, T. tatyanae occurs only in one locality, that in the Artvin district where it is syntopic with D. noctivaga. Both species have only a slight degree of adaptation to cave habitats, which seem to be used only as seasonal shelter.

There are several factors that may affect sampling with pitfall traps. Here we test the hypothesis that the mere walking of the researcher proximate to the traps could cause an increment in the capture of crickets. This would occur if the walking provoked vibration in the litter, to which crickets showed a jumping response, thus falling into the pitfall traps. We mounted 126 traps in 14 groups of nine. The traps within a group were positioned in three parallel rows of three traps each, one meter apart from each other. Each group of nine traps was separated from the other groups by at least 5 m. Each group of nine traps was submitted to one of seven levels of disturbance frequency. Exposure time was 7 d for all traps. Treatments (disturbance frequencies) were allocated randomly among trap groups. For the data analyses we adjusted mixed-effects polynomial models. We captured 723 cricket individuals, distributed in 10 genera, most in the nymphal stage. As expected, the number of captured individuals, as well as the number of genera, increased with disturbance frequency. However this response was not linear: at higher disturbance frequencies there was a decrease in captures. There was also an effect of trap positioning within each group: central traps were more affected by disturbance than peripheral ones, while peripheral traps captured more individuals and genera in the absence of disturbance. Therefore we recommend areas near pitfall traps not be visited during the trapping period. Alternatively, to enhance sampling efficiency, the researcher may do programmed visiting to the trapping area, but this must be rigorously designed to provoke exactly the same disturbance for all traps. Enhancing the distance among traps will augment efficiency in capturing individuals and capture larger cricket diversity. Further studies of the interaction between methodology and cricket behavior will refine our ability to design and interpret pitfall studies.

New species of Rhainopomma and of Altiusambilla from the northern part of the Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania are described, based on morphological, molecular and geographical data. Ancestors of the genera Usambilla, Rhainopomma and Altiusambilla probably spread when a different climatic regime favored forest cover connecting presently isolated high mountains of East Africa. After forests retreated, allopatric speciation was the driving force resulting in the biographical pattern of closely related lentulid species we see today in the Eastern Arc mountains and inland volcanoes of Tanzania and Kenya.

Two new species of a new genus of katydids collected in the understory of rainforests of northern Peru are described and figured. Observations on one species suggests that both may be predaceous or, at least, opportunistic predators. Placement of this genus into either Copiphorinae or Agraeciinae has not been resolved and demonstrates the need for studies to refine subfamilial and tribal relationships among the tettigoniids.

Comparing closely related species from disparate habitats can uncover habitat-specific adaptations. We compared 32 environment and oviposition characteristics in two closely related grasshoppers from opposite environments: Romalea microptera from the Florida Everglades wetlands vs Taeniopoda eques from the Chihuahuan Desert. These closely related species can interbreed, but differ in oviposition characteristics. Desert T. eques deposited long, straight, deep pods containing more eggs, and tended to lay within vegetation where they were shaded and hidden from predators. They did not oviposit in the early morning, late afternoon or evening, and males did not mate-guard. In contrast, wetlands-inhabiting R. microptera laid smaller pods closer to the soil surface, and often laid exposed to full sunlight on elevated ground away from water and nearby vegetation, in the morning or even after dark, and were usually mate-guarded. Oviposition phenology also differed, with R. microptera ovipositing in the summer and T. eques in the fall, possibly as a consequence of life-history shifts driven by local seasonal rainfall patterns. Our results suggest rapid trait divergence in these sister species. These divergent behaviors appear to be adaptive, given the divergent (desert vs wetland) environments of these species.