Acorypha glaucopsis

Acorypha glaucopsis (Walker, 1870) Figs 23, 24 References for Socotra. Krauss (1902): 5 [as Calliptamus pachypus]; Burr (1903): 412, 420 [as Caloptenus italicus]; Krauss (1907): 24–25, 29 [as Calliptamus pachypus]; Uvarov (1950): 387, 393 [as Caloptenopsis pachypus]; Popov (in Uvarov and Popov (1957)): 372 [as Caloptenopsis glaucopsis orientalis]; Jago (1967): 416, 426, 429–430, figs 14, 123; Wranik (1998): 171; Wranik (2003): 321, plates 151, 155. Diagnostic notes. Acorypha glaucopsis can be distinguished from A. bimaculata by the following characteristics: the inner side of the hind femora is yellow; the hind femora are broader, with a length-to-height ratio of less than 2.8. The femoral carinae are high; the dorsal and ventral ones are more or less the same height, with the ventral one being clearly whitish (Fig. 23). Taxonomic notes. Specimens from Socotra were formerly described by Krauss (1902) as Calliptamus pachypus Krauss, 1902. Uvarov (in Uvarov and Popov (1957)) synonymised the species with Caloptenopsis glaucopsis orientalis, which, in turn, was synonymised with the nominate by Jago (1967), who also synonymised Caloptenopsis with Acorypha. Distribution and occurrence. It has a wide distribution from Sahelian West Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as Arabia and India (Rowell and Hemp 2017). On Socotra, the species is widespread and locally very common on coastal plains, like Hadiboh Plain. It is much scarcer at higher elevations (Fig. 24). Habitat and biology. Acorypha glaucopsis is a typical geophilous species characteristic of gravelly, stony, sandy plains with sparse vegetation. Most records are from sparse dwarf, low Croton - Jatropha shrubland and submontane grassland from 0–800 m a. s. l. Records are of all seasons.