Bioecology of the Orthoptera Species of the Setifian Plateau, North-East Algeria

Authors: MUSTAPHA BOUNECHADA, SALAH EDDINE DOUMANDJI, BATTAL ÇIPLAK

Abstract: The bioecology of the Orthoptera species living in the Setif region of Algeria was studied between 1995 and 1999. The research was conducted at 12 ecologically homogeneous sites with typical biotopes for the Orthoptera species in the region. Thirty-six Orthoptera species were recorded, of which 6 belonged to Tettigonioidea and 30 to Acridioidea. The most abundant and frequent species in the area were Ocneridia volxemi (Bolivar, 1878), Dociostaurus maroccanus (Thunberg, 1815), Tmethis laevisculus (Krauss, 1892), Calliptamus wattenwyllianus (Pantel, 1896), Praephyppigera pachygaster (Lucas, 1849), and Platycleis laticauda Brunner, 1882. Orthoptera of the Setifian Plateau are divided into 4 groups according to their life cycle. There are 33 annual species, of which 23 have embryonic hibernation, 4 have nymphal hibernation, and 6 have adult hibernation. The remaining 3 species have 2 generations per year and nymphal hibernation. Also, an ecological analysis was performed to clarify the relative importance of some abiotic factors that impact upon the distribution of the Orthoptera populations.

Keywords: Orthoptera, Tettigonioidea, Acridioidea, bioecology, Setif, Algeria

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