Morphology, density and population fluctuation of new records of orthopterans associated with four agroecosystems

Objective: To determine orthopterans taxonomically, to calculate the population dynamics and fluctuation based on collections carried out in four agroecosystems in the Experimental Unit of the “Presidente Juárez” Agrobiology School in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted from August to December 2019. The agroecosystem was divided into four sectors, and for each sector a hectare of land with different crops was assigned. A completely randomized experimental design was established, with four treatments and five repetitions. Five collections were made in each sector, every 14 days. The field information was analyzed with the SAS software ver. 3.8, with Tukey’s means comparison test (0.05). Results: Two thousand hits were carried out with an entomological net and 2024 orthopterans were collected. The outstanding genera and species were: Schistocerca nitens, Sphenarium purpurascens and Achurum sumichrasti. Limitations on study/implications: Only five months of the year were evaluated, so the species determined can vary in their relative abundance. Findings/conclusions: New records were found in seven families, 19 genera and 16 species: Acanthorintes tauriformis, Achurum sumichrasti (Saussure, 1861); Aidemona azteca (Saussure, 1861); Arphia conspersa Scudder, 1875; Brachystola mexicana Bruner, 1906; Ceuthophilus pallidipes Tomás, 1872; Conocephalus cinereus Thunberg, 1815; Dichromorpha prominula (Bruner, 1904); Ducetia japónica (Thunberg, 1815); Gryllus spp., Linnaeus, 1758; Melanoplus differentialis (Thomas, 1865); Neoconocephalus triops (Linnaeus, 1758); Rhammatocerus viatorius (Saussure, 1861); Schistocerca nitens (Thunberg, 1815); Sphenarium purpurascens (Charpentier, 1841); Stilpnochlora azteca (Saussure, 1859); Taeniopoda stali Bruner, 1907; Pyrgocorypha spp., Stal 1873; and Stenopelmatus spp., Burmeister, 1838.