Moncheca Walker 1869
Creators: name: Naskrecki, Piotr
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2000
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Moncheca

description: 1869 Walker, Cat. Derm. Salt. Brit. Mus. 2: 289; type species: <i>Moncheca pretiosa</i> Walker, 1869 1999 Naskrecki and Otte, Illustr. Cat. Orthop. I (CD ROM) &gt;&gt;full references Body relatively robust; both sexes macropterous (Fig. 27 A) tegumen smooth and shiny. Fastigium of vertex small, only slightly projecting in front of eyes, gap between fastigia of vertex and frons shallow; frons flat; eyes small. Male cercus cylindrical or strongly flattened laterally, with apical part expanded ventrally; ovipositor straight. Coloration striking, tegmina turquoise with crimson red costal field in life, dark olive to black in preserved specimens. <b>Description</b> (male except where specified) <i>Head.—</i> Fastigium of vertex small, only slightly projecting in front of eyes; lateral ocelli prominent when seen from above (Fig. 26 E); base of fastigium of vertex between eyes sometimes with several tubercles dorsally; fastigium of vertex separated from fastigium of frons by small gap. Eyes small relative to size of head, not particularly protruding. Frons flat, smooth; tegumen of head smooth, shiny, without traces of genal carinae; face with sides slightly convex, narrower below eyes than at mandibular joints but not triangular (Fig. 27 B). <i>Thorax and wings.—</i> Dorsal surface of pronotum smooth, shiny, cut by two deep, transverse sulci; metazona slightly raised; anterior dorsal margin straight, posterior one straight to weakly convex (Figs. 26 E, 27C); lateral lobes with posterior angle rounded and with well developed humeral incision. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, elliptical, completely hidden under lateral lobe of pronotum; posterior edge of spiracle with small, rounded flap. Prosternum unarmed; mesosternum with basisterna approximately triangular, almost vertical, with short apical spines; metasternum unarmed. Wings in both sexes fully developed, surpassing apices of hind femora (Fig. 27 A). Stridulatory apparatus of male small but well developed; stridulatory file straight to weakly curved (Figs. 47 D-E), evenly tapering on both ends, with relatively thick and narrow teeth; stridulatory area of both wings with no secondary venation; mirror of right wing slightly longer than high, vein AA1 sometimes strongly oblique. Posterior margin of front wing weakly concave; apex of front wing broadly rounded. <i>Legs.—</i> Fore coxa with an elongate, forward projecting spine dorsally; mid and hind coxa unarmed. All femora unarmed dorsally; anterior femora armed ventrally on both margins, sometimes posterior margin unarmed; mid femora armed on anterior ventral margin only; hind femora armed on both ventral margins; genicular lobes of all femora unarmed or armed only on hind femora; hind femora very short relative to body length. Tympanum on fore tibia bilaterally closed, tympanal slits facing forward, sometimes posterior (outer) slit weakly sinuous and part of tympanal membrane visible; tympanal area weakly swollen, with pair of small pits below tympanal slits; middle tibia unarmed dorsally, ventrally armed on both margins; hind tibia armed on all four dorsal and ventral margins; apex of tibia with two pairs of ventral and one pair of dorsal movable spurs. <i>Abdomen.—</i> Dorsal surface of abdominal terga smooth, unmodified. Male 10th tergite strongly sclerotized, smooth but sometimes with dense hair along posterior margin; posterior margin sometimes expanded caudat, with subapical concavity; supraanal plate simple, triangular; female 10th tergite simple, unmodified. Male cercus with small apical tooth, sometimes apex of cercus expanded dorso-ventrally (Figs. 26 F-G, 27D-E); female cercus, simple, narrowly conical. Subgenital plate of male wider than long, with a pair of short styli and small, triangular incision on hind margin; female subgenital plate much wider than long, with shallow, triangular incision and two, small, spine-like lobes apically. Concealed genitalia of male membranous, without sclerotized titillators. Ovipositor longer than hind femur, perfectly straight; both dorsal and ventral margins of ovipositor smooth, parallel, weakly narrowing towards apex; apex of ovipositor sharp (Fig. 27 A). <i>Coloration.—</i> Coloration striking, especially in live individuals (coloration deteriorates strongly in preserved specimens). Face shiny black, mouthparts crimson red or orange; antennae black, with sparsely distributed narrow light bands; pronotum black or brown, with one or two transverse white or yellow bands. Costal area of tegmina yellow, bordered by a diffused crimson band, often with distinct, green venation; costal area of tegmina crimson red underneath; remaining portions of tegmina green to brown, often turning nearly black in preserved specimens; hind wings with strikingly green venation, sometimes slightly infumated. Coloration of legs variable, sometimes hind tarsi crimson red. Abdomen turquoise, dorsal portions of abdominal terga sometimes blue (abdomen often turns yellow in preserved specimens). Male 10th tergite partially or entirely black; ovipositor dark brown, sometimes lower valvula yellow.
description: Published as part of <i>Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA :The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,</i> on pages 98-99, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.270035