China is a genus of grasshoppers in the family Chorotypidae. As of 2018[update], it is monospecific, consisting of its sole species China mantispoides.[a] It is found in China, Thailand, and Myanmar. Malcolm Burr first circumscribed the genus in 1899; the species C. mantispoides was described in 1870 by Francis Walker. It is a pest of hickory trees.
C. mantispoides is found in central and southern China.[9] Its range includes the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang.[7] It is found in Dabie Mountains, Hubei Province, at elevations of 400–850 metres (1,310–2,790 ft) in mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests.[10] This species has also been observed in the Bamianshan Nature Reserve, Hunan; this is within the Nanling Mountains and is mostly a forest of subtropical broad-leafed evergreens.[11]C. mantispoides has also been reported in the Sanjiang wetlands in Linhai, Zhejiang.[12]
The British entomologist Francis Walker first describedC. mantispoides in 1870; he placed it in the genus Mastax.[4][b] Walker based his description on a single male specimen.[4] The holotype was deposited in the British Museum.[4][16] The British entomologist Malcolm Burr then transferred this species to his new genus, China, which he circumscribed in 1899. Burr included only C. mantispoides in his circumscription of China.[1]
The antennae of China are very short,[17] and are filiform in shape.[9] The wings and tegmina extend past hind femora.[9] Spines along the inside of the hind tibiae get gradually longer distally; the spines are otherwise homogeneous and none are markedly longer.[9][17]
The body of C. mantispoides is black with a tawny underside. Its antennae are black with a pale yellow colouring at their base. The sides of the prothorax are tawny. The legs are also tawny, and the tarsi and tips of the tibiae are blackish.[4]
The hind tibiae of C. mantispoides have 22 spines along their outside and 19 longer spines along their inside. Dark bands go transversely across the hind femora.[9] For male and female C. mantispoides, respectively, the body length is 17–18 mm (0.67–0.71 in) and 22–23 mm (0.87–0.91 in), the forewings' length is 19–20 mm (0.75–0.79 in) and 17–18 mm (0.67–0.71 in), and the hind femora's length is 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) and 11–12 mm (0.43–0.47 in).[7] The males' tegmina have a length of 19 mm (0.75 in) and the females have a tegmen length of 17.8 mm (0.70 in).[9]
Biology
C. mantispoides is univoltine. The eggs hatch in late May after overwintering. The nymph has five instars.[8] In early October, females lay at least ten eggs 1 cm (0.39 in) deep in the soil.[19] Adults do not exhibit phototaxis. Adult males can fly up to 5 meters (16 ft) at once.[19]C. manispoides can be found on the trunks of pine trees like the Chinese red pine; their colouration acts as camouflage.[9][17]
Natural predators include the Chinese blackbird, red-billed blue magpie. The spider Oxyopes sertatus is a predator of its nymph, and various predatory ants feed upon the eggs.[8]C. mantispoides eats various grasses and weeds.[19] It also feeds on the leaves of the following plants:[8]
C. mantispoides is one of the main pests of hickory in Zhejiang. They feed on the leaves from June to October;[20] the most serious damage is in mid-October.[8] Trees afflicted by this pest end up with dead leaves, often leaving no more than the veins. This weakens the trees' ability to photosynthesize and interferes with the harvest of their fruit.[20] Researchers have suggested a mix of trichlorfon and urine to combat C. mantispoides as a pest; the urine lures the grasshoppers away from the trees.[8][20] Others have also suggested digging and turning over soil in October so their eggs freeze.[19]C. mantispoides is also an occasional pest of indica and japonica rice in the Xinyang region.[21]
Notes
^The name of the genus in Chinese is 秦蜢属, qínměngshǔ.[5][7][8] The species is known in Chinese as 摹螳秦蜢mótángqínměng,[8][11][19][20]幕螳秦蜢mùtángqínměng,[7]幕膛秦蜢mùtángqínměng,[5][10] or 曼秦蜢mànqínměng.[12]
^ abcHuang Jian-hua 黄建华; Huang Yuan 黄原; Zhou Shan-yi 周善义 (2009). "Zhōngguó měng zǒng kē kūnchóng mínglù" 中国蜢总科昆虫名录 [Checklist of Chinese Species of Superfamily Eumastacoidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera)]. Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Natural Science Edition) (in Chinese). 27 (1): 84–87. ISSN1001-6600 – via CNKI.
^Zeuner, Frederick E. (1942). "The Locustopsidae and the Phylogeny of the Acridodea (Orthoptera)". Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series B, Taxonomy. 11 (1): 17. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1942.tb00713.x; Fig. 11.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ abcdefZheng Fang-Qiang 郑方强 (2013). Zhōngguó měng zǒng kē fēnlèi yánjiū (Zhí chì mù: Juān bàn yà mù) 中国蜢总科分类研究（直翅目：镌瓣亚目） [Taxonomic Study on Eumastacoidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera) from China] (Ph.D.) (in Chinese). Shandong Agricultural University. pp. 20, 36, 52–156, 138 – via CNKI.
^ abZhong Yu-lin 钟玉林; Zheng Jian 郑坚; Zheng Zhe-min 郑哲民 (2001). "Húběi dàbiéshān huángchóng qū xì yánjiū" 湖北大别山蝗虫区系研究 [Research on grasshoppers' fauna in Dabieshan Mountains in Hubei Province]. Journal of Central China Normal University (Natural Sciences) (in Chinese). 35 (4): 459–463. doi:10.19603/j.cnki.1000-1190.2001.04.024.
^ abHuang Jianhua 黄建华; Fu Peng 傅鹏 (1997). "Húnán shěng bā miàn shān zìrán bǎohù qū huángchóng diàochá" 湖南省八面山自然保护区蝗虫调查 [Survey of Grasshoppers from Bamianshan Natural Reserve in Hunan Province (Orthoptera)]. Journal of Hunan Educational Institute (in Chinese). 15 (5): 171–174. ISSN1001-6074 – via CNKI.
^ abcdRehn, James A. G. (1948). "The Acridoid Family Eumastacidae (Orthoptera). A Review of Our Knowledge of Its Components, Features and Systematics, with a Suggested New Classification of Its Major Groups". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 100: 121, 134. JSTOR4064416.
