The Mountain Katydid 'Acripeza Reticulata' (Orthoptera): A Tourist to Wilsons Promontory, Victoria?

2006·0.5 MB·English

by  T R New

NaturalistNote
The Mountain Katydid Acripeza reticulata (Orthoptera):
a tourist to Wilsons Promontory, Victoria?
Introduction 23’S, 142° 30’E), and Mt Sabene (sic)
The Mountain Katydid (sometimes, but (presumed Mt Sabine, 38° 38’S, 143°
less properly, known as the Mountain 44’E).
Grasshopper) Acripeza reticulata Guerin
(Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae) is one of New record
the more distinctive endemic Orthoptera in Victoria, Wilsons Promontory National
Australia, and can not be confused easily Park, 38° 54’$, 146° 15’E, sandy heath-
with any other species. Males are fully land, on ground,1?, 21 February 2006, L.
winged, and females flightless with short- Murray.
ened tegmina and no hind wings. Both The capture site, some 150 m west ofthe
sexes are dark grey to black, with the main north-south road to Tidal River, was
abdomen ringed with dorsal bands of in an open sandy dune-swale system with
bright blue and red (or orange) that are sporadic Leptospermum laevigatum cover,
exposed by raising the wings ifthe insect open understorey and much near-bare
is disturbed.Acripeza is thus highly apose- ground. The insect was photographed alive
matic, and is characteristically alpine or and, with permission of Parks Victoria
subalpine, and widespread in the southern staff, retained as avoucherto be deposited
alps (Rentz 1996). where it can be locally in Museum Victoria.
common in summer, usually conspicuous Discussion
oRnentthzegnrootuedndthoartlolwowvleagnedtatpioopnu.laHtoiwoenvsero,f seTehmesohriiggihnlyofimtphirsobsapbelceimtehantissuucnhclaearc.onI-t
Acripeza are known from near Nyngan
(New South Wales) and Moonie (southern nsoptiiccueouosniWnislecstonwsouPlrdomhoanvteoreysciafpaedreesairdleinetr
Queensland). Green and Osborne (1994) population occurs there. The alternative
tnhoetetdrtehealti,naeltinhouTgahsmAacnriipae,zaitociscucrsomabmoovne voephtiicolne,iswtihtahtoitnewaosfttrhaensvpeohritceldesthferroeminLaa
only in the lower subalpine zones on the TrobeUniversity presentat thetime ofdis-
mainland mountains, and extends as far as covery the most likely candidate. This
TheplainstowardsBroken Hill’. vehicle had been used for fieldwork in the
Inthisnote, the findingofaliving female Victorian alps from 13-17 February,
ofA. reticulata in Wilsons Promontory including visits to Mt Hotham (1600 m, 15
National Park, southern Victoria, is report- February) and Mt Sarah (1550 m, 16-17
ed, representing a considerable outlier February). It had then been returned to
from the previously recorded range ofthe Melbourne, the interior emptied and vacu-
species. umed and the outside washed, before it
Victorian distribution was driven to Tidal River on 19 February,
Acripeza is distributed widely in and to various sites on the Promontory
Victoria’s alpine and subalpine zones. The overthe followingdays. Theclear implica-
Museum Victoria Orthoptera collection tion is that the Acripeza could have
includes specimens ofAcripeza from the entered the car during the previous week
following localities: Mt Bogong, Mt and escaped detection during cleaning,
Hotham, Corryong, Whisky Flat, Mt repacking and again emptying the vehicle
Buller, Mt Skene, Mt McKay. However, and eventually left the car at the site of
avindduamlosrpeecinitmreingsuinfgrloym, tthhreereemaorerealssooutihnedri-- dabiosuctov6e0rym.fTrhoem tihnesneecatrewsatsvehdiicslce,ovaebroeudt
ly localities (presumed approximate coor- 45minutesafterarrival atthe site.
dinates not on data labels have been insert- Further searches will be made to deter-
ed by me), as follows: Lerderderg Gorge mine whether a resident population exists.
(37° 33’S, 144° 24’E), Warmambool (38° However, even ifintroduced as above, the
Vol. 123 (6) 2006 405
0
NaturalistNote
female was alive, active and apparently note is to alert entomological visitors to
healthy when found and the possibility this possibility, in the hope that further
cannotbe dismissedthat itcould have been specimens ofthis striking orthopteran may
a successful colonist. For the present, this indeedbe found.
intriguing record is best treated as an iso-
Acknowledgements
tsltearntatetdeissntttrhooewdauewcaatseiyownisintdmihvaiwydhuiabcle,hmbsuautcdheitiadnneaddmvoetnrh--e tVIhiaicstmoregixraac)ti.etfiuKnlegntofiWLnaedlw,kietsorMEu(lrMaruiasnyeeufTomrhaoVlimecrattosirnig(aP)maearnktdso
care needed to prevent them. In this case, Pete Green (Botany, La Trobe University), for
the projected scenario entails the insect adviceandhelp.
being in the vehicle, eluding deliberate
References
sanitation and repeated use, fora period of Green K and Osborne W (1994) Wildlife ofthe
(probably) some six days, and transport Australian snow-country. (Reed Books: Chatswood,
over some 600 km (Hotham-Melbourne, NSW).
Rcntz D (1996) Grasshoppereountry. (University of
Melbourne-Tidal River, subsequenttrips). NewSouthWalesPress:Greenwich,NSW)
Nevertheless, the incidence ofthe other
southern Victoria specimens listed above TRNew
leaves the possibility of a more natural DepartmentofZoology,
occurrence of the species on Wilsons LaTrobeUniversity,Victoria3086
Email:[email protected]
Promontory, andtheprecise localityisthus
not advertised here. The purpose of this
Australian Natural History Medallion Trust Fund
Donationsweregratefullyreceivedduring2006fromthefollowing:
$
Andrew Isles 1000
AlburyWodongaFieldNaturalistsClub Inc • 20
HelenAston 50
FieldNaturalistClubofBallarat 25
BumieFieldNaturalistsClubInc 30
FieldNaturalistsAsociationof Canberra 75
JuliaDavis 10
ClarrieHandrek 20
MidMauurayFieldNaturalistsInc 50
Brendan Murphy 50
GeoffreyPaterson 20
AlanReid 1
The Royal SocietyofVictoriaInc. 100
UpperGoulbum FieldNaturalistsClub 50
Ifyouwould liketocontributeto thefund,whichsupportstheAustralianNatural HistoryMedallion,
donations should be sent to: The Treasurer, Field Naturalists Club ofVictoria, Locked Bag 3,
Blackburn, Vie. 3130. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Australian Natural History Medallion
TrustFund’.
The medallion isawardedannuallytoaperson who isconsideredto have madethe mostsignificant
contributiontotheunderstaningofAustraliannaturalhistoryinthepasttenyears.
406 The Victorian Naturalist