Morphometric Characters of Overwintering Adults of the Bombay Locust, Patanga succincta (L.)(Orthoptera : Cyrtacanthacridinae) in Outbreak Areas of Okinawa

Abstract

Overwintering adults of the Bombay locust, Patanga succincta (L.), were collected in the outbreak year (1980) from two adjacent areas in the southern part of Okinawa Is. and their morphometric characters were examined. The number of eye stripes was either 7 (6-instar type) or 8 (7-instar type). The proportion of the 7-instar type in the females (70.7%) was significantly higher than in the males (18.6%). The head width (C), lengths of hind femur (F) and elytron (E) in each sex were all significantly greater in the 7-instar type than in the 6-instar type. However, these differences were much smaller than the sexual differences.The means of F/C (4.31-4.40) and E/F (1.61-1.65) were not significantly different between the two instar types in each sex.These results are discussed in relation to moulting polymorphism in locusts and grass-hoppers.