Metaplastes pulchripennis

Metaplastes pulchripennis
Metaplastes pulchripennis, dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Family:	Tettigoniidae
Genus:	Metaplastes
Species:	M. pulchripennis
Binomial name
Metaplastes pulchripennis (A. Costa, 1863)
Synonyms
Odontura pulchripennis Costa, A., 1863

Metaplastes pulchripennis is a species of 'katydids crickets' belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Phaneropterinae.

This cricket is present in mainland of Italy, in Sardinia, in Corsica and in Spain. It can commonly be encountered from June through July, especially on Cistus species. Metaplastes pulchripennis is quite similar to Barbistes species, but it can be distinguished by the cerci of the males and the more elongated pronotum.

Metaplastes pulchripennis, male

The adults can reach 17–18 millimetres (0.67–0.71 in) of length. The basic coloration of the body is pale green, with a reddish brown streak on the back. The legs are mainly green, with pale brown knees. The antennae are brown and very long. Ovipositor is quite short (9–10 millimetres (0.35–0.39 in)). Elytra of females are green, while in males they show a white outer edge, with a dark brown band on the edge.

References

• Paolo Fontana, Baudewijn Odé & Bruno Massa. 2004 – Sull’identità di Metaplastes ippolitoi e le altre specie del genere Metaplastes - (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae). Memorie Soc. entomol. Ital., (2003)

External links

• Fauna Europaea
• Biolib
• Orthoptera Species
• Tela-orthoptera