Zoogeography of mole crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) in the West Indies
Author
Frank, J. H.
Author
McCoy, Earl D.
text
Insecta Mundi
2014
2014-01-10
2014
331
1
14
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.4531680
1942-1354
4531680
EDD2E0AA-A581-4AEE-A494-7E5EF21F9D0B
Scapteriscus abbreviatus
Scudder 1869
Adults and nymphs have very widely separated tibial dactyls (
Fig. 7
). Adults are short-winged, and the apices of the tegmina are truncate (
Fig. 13
). This species is a pest of highly managed turf (golf courses) in coastal southern
Florida
and St. Croix, and a minor pest (because of its restricted range) of crops elsewhere. The species’ distribution in the West Indies:
Guadeloupe
–
1938
(
Nickle and Castner 1984
).
Jamaica
–
1926
(
Gowdey 1926
, misidentified as
S. didactylus
!)
– see
Frank and Walker (2003)
, who identified specimens from the Institute of
Jamaica
as
S. abbreviatus
, for explanation.
US Virgin Islands
: St. Croix –
1918
(Zwaluwenburg 1918 p. 6, misreported as “the changa”, the vernacular name bestowed on
S. didactylus
in
Puerto Rico
!
) – year? (
Miskimen and Bond 1970
as probably
S. abbreviatus
) – 1940 (
Nickle and Castner 1984
as
S. abbreviatus
) – (
Ivie and Nickle 1986
discounted presence of any species other than
S. abbreviatus
) – 1991 (
Frank and Keularts 1996
: fresh specimens of
S. abbreviatus
collected and identified with explanation of history).
Puerto Rico
–
1910
(one specimen in NHM labeled “Antilles P. Rico 1910-339” examined by J.H. Frank in
September 2011
and identified as
S. abbreviatus
– 1917
Wolcott (1924)
as
S. abbreviatus
– 1920
Nickle and Castner (1984)
as
S. abbreviatus
).
Haiti
–
1929
(
Nickle and Castner 1984
).
Cuba
–
1906
(
Cook 1906
, misidentified as
S. didactylus
!
and
Rehn 1909
consequently listed as
S. didactylus
!
) – (
Bruner 1940
, with an unequivocal photograph, as
S. abbreviatus
) – (Zayas 1974 as
S. abbreviatus
) – (Ruíz Baliú and Fernández Iriana 1996, as
S. abbreviatus
).
Nickle (2003)
stated that
S. abbreviatus
may have been present in
Cuba
“perhaps as early as 1750” but provided no evidence – the earliest reference he cited is
Saussure 1874
, but Saussure does not mention the presence of this species in
Cuba
).
Bahamas
: New Providence Island, Nassau –
1922
? (
Caudell 1922
as
S. abbreviatus
; the specimen examined by Caudell, supposedly collected by W. M. Mann in Nassau sometime before 1922, and now in the US National Museum of Natural History) – this is curious because W.M. Wheeler is known to have collected on New Providence in
May 1904
, whereas his student W.M. Mann collected on other Bahamian islands (
Andros
and
Mangrove Cay
) in May-June 1917 –
Nickle and Castner (1984)
re-examined the specimen and confirmed its identity but added no details – it is even more curious because of a specimen in the University of Iowa collection mentioned by
Caudell (1922)
as being labeled as
S. variegatus
and B 1047.013 but identified by him (Caudell) as
S. abbreviatus
,
collector and collection locality unknown (see below).