Tackling an intractable problem: can greater taxon sampling help resolve relationships within the Stenopelmatoidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera)?

The relationships among and within the families that comprise the orthopteran superfamily Stenopelmatoidea (suborder Ensifera) remain poorly understood. We developed a phylogenetic hypothesis based on Bayesian analysis of two nuclear ribosomal and one mitochondrial gene for 118 individuals (84 de novo and 34 from GenBank). These included Gryllacrididae from North, Central, and South America, South Africa and Madagascar, Australia and Papua New Guinea; Stenopelmatidae from North and Central America and South Africa; Anostostomatidae from North and Central America, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa; members of the Australian endemic Cooloola (three species); and a representative of Lezina from the Middle East. We also included representatives of all other major ensiferan families: Prophalangopsidae, Rhaphidophoridae, Schizodactylidae, Tettigoniidae, Gryllidae, Gryllotalpidae and Myrmecophilidae and representatives of the suborder Caelifera as outgroups. Bayesian analyses of concatenated sequence data supported a clade of Stenopelmatoidea inclusive of all analyzed members of Gryllacrididae, Stenopelmatidae, Anostostomatidae, Lezina and Cooloola. We found Gryllacrididae worldwide to be monophyletic, while we did not recover a monophyletic Stenopelmatidae nor Anostostomatidae. Australian Cooloola clustered in a clade composed of Australian, New Zealand, and some (but not all) North American Anostostomatidae. Lezina was included in a clade of New World Anostostomatidae. Finally, we compiled and compared karyotypes and sound production characteristics for each supported group. Chromosome number, centromere position, drumming, and stridulation differed among some groups, but also show variation within groups. This preliminary trait information may contribute toward future studies of trait evolution. Despite greater taxon sampling within Stenopelmatoidea than previous efforts, some relationships among the families examined continue to remain elusive

Studies in the orthopteran fauna of Melanesia: new katydids of the tribe Agraeciini from Papua New Guinea (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae)

Two new genera (Ingrischia n. gen. and Pandanagraecia n. gen.) and 15 new forest species of Agraeciini (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from New Britain and central Papua New Guinea are described: I. macrocephala n. sp., P. poregera n. sp., P. armata n. sp., P. bifurcata n. sp., P. stylata n. sp., Salomona richardsi n. sp., Pseudonicsara (P.) fascifrons n. sp., P. (P.) gugusu n. sp., Anthracites nakanaiensis n. sp., Gonatacanthus gahavisuka n. sp., Microsalomona sawetau n. sp., M. brachyptera n. sp., Scytocera smaragdifrons n. sp., Philmontis lobatus n. sp., and Trichophallus tricuspis n. sp.Stridulations of S. richardsi and S. godeffroyi (Pictet) are described

First observation in nature of effective predator defence behaviour in the spiny forest katydid phricta spinosa Redtenbacher (Orthoptera: Pseudophyllinae: Phrictini)

Phricta spinosa Redtenbacher, 1892 is recorded for the first time using its hind legs to successfully repel an avian predator, the Little Shrike-thrush, Colluricincla megarhyncha (Colluricinclidae)

First record of the larvae of Hippotion rosetta (Swinhoe, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) feeding on the foliage of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

The larva of Hippotion rosetta (Swinhoe, 1892) is recorded for the first time feeding on the foliage of Nepenthes mirabilis, N. tenax and N. rowaniae (Nepenthaceae) in northern Cape York Peninsula, Queenslan

Revision of the genus Calofulcinia Giglio-Tos (Mantodea: Nanomantidae: Fulciniinae) in Australia

The genus Calofulcinia comprises several species of small, cryptic mantis, three of which have been described from Australia. The genus is infrequently recorded and is thus very poorly known, and even basic questions of species delimitation and distribution have remained virtually unknown since the descriptions of these taxa. We here redescribe and figure the three known Australian species of Calofulcinia in full and provide a detailed key to Australian species. We record significant range extensions for all three species, and provide the first detailed behavioural and ecological records for the genus. In addition, we group the Australian species into a Robust Group (C. paraoxypila) and a Gracile Group (C. australis and C. oxynota), we detail the occurrence of colour polymorphism within the genus, and finally we discuss the apparent microhabitat specificity of Calofulcinia spp. (mosses and lichens) and their preference for cool, moist environments with reference to our changing climate

A revision of the genus Ima Tindale (Mantodea: Nanomantidae: Fulciniinae) with the description of a new genus

Ima fusca is one of a number of unusual and infrequently collected Australian mantises about which relatively little is known. Long considered a single species, morphological studies instead revealed the presence of a second cryptic species. We here describe this species as Ima corymbia sp. nov. and redescribe both Ima and Ima fusca in detail. Additionally, we describe a unique, robust species allied to Ima that was discovered with the aid of citizen science, Inimia nat gen. et sp. nov. In light of this discovery, we provide keys to both the Australian Fulciniini genera and to the species of Ima. Finally, we provide detailed behavioural and ecological records for all three species, including the peculiar host plant specificity of Ima spp. We document and discuss this specificity in depth and suggest several possible reasons for its occurrence

Complex songs and cryptic ethospecies: the case of the Ducetia japonica group (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea: Phaneropteridae: Phaneropterinae)

In many groups of animals, especially insects, genital morphology is species distinctive. This is true of bush-crickets or katydids (Tettigonioidea). The calling songs produced by males are species distinctive and do not change significantly during the early stages of speciation. Their patterns are usually relatively simple. We present an example where none of these assumptions is true. Since the last revision of the genus Ducetia in 1961, one widespread species, Ducetia japonica (Thunberg, 1815) has been thought to be morphologically uniform. It is represented by tens of specimens from south and eastern Asia and Australasia on both sides of Wallace's Line. The male genitalic appendages vary little over the extent of its range. In contrast, the calling songs differ considerably from place to place. Examination of the stridulatory organs of both sexes (located on the first set of wings) reflects the differences in song. The teeth, which produce the sound, differ in shape, number, and size. We present details of the song patterns and the stridulatory organs that produce them. As a result, some synonyms are re-established, and new species are described. Chromosomal information is presented for two species. The origins and the distribution and expansion of the group are detailed. Duets between courting pairs have played an important role in the evolution of this song structure where efforts to trick eavesdropping rivals are common