Acorypha bimaculata

Acorypha bimaculata (Krauss, 1902) Figs 21, 22 References for Socotra. Krauss 1902: 4–5 [as Calliptamus bimaculatus]; Krauss 1907: 24, 29 [as C. bimaculatus]; Popov (in Uvarov and Popov (1957)): 372–373 [as Caloptenopsis bimaculatus]; Jago 1967: 416, 441–442, fig. 14; Wranik 1998: 171; Wranik 2003: 321, plates 151, 155. Diagnostic notes. Acorypha bimaculata and the following species, A. glaucopsis, have pinkish-based hind wings. A. bimaculata is distinguished from the latter by the following characteristics: the inner side of the hind femora is solid black, the hind femora are more slender with a length-to-height ratio greater than 2.8 and the ventral femoral carina is lower than the dorsal one. Taxonomic notes. Acorypha bimaculata is an outlier within the genus because of its slender appearance, the unique shape of the pronotal lateral carinae and its long wings (Fig. 21). Jago (1967) considered it most closely related to A. ornatipes Uvarov, 1950 from nearby mainland Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania). Distribution and occurrence. Acorypha bimaculata is endemic to the Socotra Archipelago and occurs on Socotra and Samha. It is a widespread and common species in the Hagher and limestone plateaus. The type locality of A. bimaculata is Ras Shuab. Since the cape (Ras) is an unreachable site because of pure rock and surf, we consider the collecting site to be the coastal area of Shuab instead, north of the cape (Fig. 22). Habitat and biology. A. bimaculata is a geophilous species found year-round on rocky soils from sea level up to 1000 m a. s. l. On sandy soils, it is much scarcer. Records are from high shrubland with succulents, submontane grasslands, Frankincense woodland and forest and montane mosaic and - forest. It inhabits more wooded habitats compared to A. glaucopsis (Popov in Uvarov and Popov (1957)).