Artículos originales

 

A checklist of Acrididae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) from Haryana, India

 

Lista comentada de Acrididae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) de Haryana, India

 

Hirdesh Kumar* and Mohd Kamil Usmani

 

Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002 <entomologist1985@gmail.com>*; <usmanikamil94@gmail.com>

 

Recibido: 30/09/2014.
Aceptado: 13/02/2015.

 

ABSTRACT

A survey of Acridid fauna in totally different habitats in different regions of Haryana state was carried out during the period from 2009 to 2011. Thirty six species were captured belonging to twenty three genera and eight subfamilies. Oedipodinae (28%) was the most dominant subfamily. Spathosternum pradniferum pradniferum (Walker, 1871) was found to be most abundant.

Key words: Acrididae, Haryana, Grasshoppers, Locusts, India.

 

RESUMEN

Un estudio de la fauna de acrídidos en diferentes hábitats y regiones del estado de Haryana se llevó a cabo durante el período comprendido entre 2009 y 2011. Treinta y seis especies fueron colectadas pertenecientes a veintitrés géneros y ocho subfamilias. Oedipodinae (28%) fue la subfamilia más dominante. Spathosternum prasiniferum prasiniferum (Walker, 1871) es la especie más abundante.

Palabras clave: Acrididae, Haryana, saltamontes, langostas, India.

 

INTRODUCTION

Acrididae is a family of grasshoppers including locusts in the superfamily Acridoidea which belongs to the order Orthoptera. Superfamily Acridoidea has shown maximum diversity and divided into eleven families of which Acrididae is widely distributed in India. Locusts and grasshoppers constitute an economically important group of orthopteran pests that infest a number of cultivated and non-cultivated crops. The distribution pattern of grasshoppers is changing rapidly due to the encroachment of grasslands and forests for agricultural and industrial purposes. Kirby (1914), Uvarov (1927), Henry (1940), Tandon & Shishodia (1969, 1976a, 1976b, 1976c, 1977), Bhowmik (1985), Shishodia & Mandal (1990), Usmani & Shafee (1990), Shrinivasan & Muralirangan (1992), Hazra et al. (1993), Shishodia (1997, 1999, 2000, 2008), Shishodia & Tandon (2000), Priya & Narendran (2003), Shishodia et al. (2003), Kulkarni & Shishodia (2004), Thakur et al. (2004), Ingrisch et al. (2004), Shishodia & Dey (2006, 2007), Saini & Mehta (2007), Chandra et al. (2007, 2010), Shishodia & Gupta (2009), Usmani et al. (2010), Senthil-kumar (2010) and Kumar & Usmani (2012a, 2012b) have contributed to the taxonomy of Indian Acridids. There are only few sporadic reports or papers available on acridid fauna of Haryana. Shishodia et al. (2010) reported 30 species over 25 genera belonging to four families of order Orthoptera from this state. So, keeping in mind the importance of these pests in agriculture, an extensive and intensive survey was made to find out the distribution and diversity of these pests at different habitats in various localities in this area.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Haryana (Fig. 1) is a part of Kuru region in North India, bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana is located between 27°39' to 30°35' N latitude and between 74°28' and 77°36' E longitude. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 and 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200metres) above sea level. The total area of the state of Haryana is 44,212 square kilometres. An area of 1,553 km2 is covered by forest.

The adult grasshoppers of both sexes were collected from various localities of Haryana during the period of 2009 to 2011 which served the basis for the present critical study. They were caught by hand, by forceps, and by the ordinary aerial insect net. The net was used for catching insects individually or by sweeping on grasses, bushes and other vegetation. The specimens were first relaxed, stretched and later, they were pinned and labeled. Identification of species is based on both morphological and genital characters. The collected materials by the author during survey are deposited in the Zoological Museum of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

 

RESULTS

The material collected from different area and various localities of Haryana state includes 430 specimens of acridids. This collection includes thirty six species belonging to twenty three genera and eight subfamilies (Table 1). Spathosternum pradniferum pradniferum (Walker, 1871) was collected in the maximum number. The members of subfamily Oedipodinae with 28% (Fig. 2) are the more diverse and abundant species. Some abundant species of Oedipodinae are Trilophidia annulata (Thunberg, 1815), Aiolopus simulatrix simulatrix (Walker, 1870) and Aiolopus thalassinus thalassinus (Fabricius, 1781). The following species Oxya hyla hyla (Serville, 1831), Spathosternum prasiniferum prasiniferum (Walker, 1871), Hieroglyphus nigrorepletus (Bolivar, 1912), Hieroglyphus banian (Fabricius, 1798), Trilophidia annulata (Thunberg, 1815), Aiolopus simulatrix simulatrix (Walker, 1870) and Acrida exaltata (Walker, 1859) are found in almost all habitats. Twenty six species and eleven genera are reported for the first time from this state.

 

DISCUSSION

Acridids popularly known as locusts and grasshoppers are major pests of various agricultural crops and grass-lands. Their destructiveness is well known throughout the world. Locusts are the key pests of agricultural land of those countries which are bordered by the deserts. Shishodia et al. (2010) and Chandra et al. (2010) reported 15 species under 15 genera belonging to seven subfamilies of Acrididae from Haryana. A few species such as Cyrtacanthacris tatarica tatarica (Linnaeus, 1758), Schisto-cerca gregaria (Forskal, 1775), Tylotropidius varicornis (Walker, 1870), Aulacobothrus socius Bolivar, 1902 and Tristria pulvinata (Uvarov, 1921) reported by Shishodia et al. (2010) were not found during the sampling. Shishodia et al. (2010) found seven subfamilies with maximum number of species in subfamily Oedipodinae (31%), followed by subfamily Acridinae (15%), Eyprepocnemidinae (15%), Cyrtacanthacridinae (15%), Oxyinae (8%), Tropidopolinae (8%) and Gomphocerinae (8%). The present study also support the findings of Shishodia et al. (2010) with some changes as the species of subfamily Oedipodinae were reported in maximum percentage followed by the subfamily Acridinae. Shishodia et al. (2010) were unable to find members of subfamilies Spathosterninae, Hemiacridinae and Catantopinae. So, the present study is a distinct addition to the Acridid fauna of Haryana.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to extend our gratitude to Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi for providing financial assistance during the tenure of a major research project (Ref. No. SR/ SO/AS 32/2008) being carried out on Biosystematics and Biodiversity of Acridoidea (Orthoptera) in North India. Thanks are also due to Prof. Iqbal Parwez, Chairman, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, for providing facilities.

 

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