Parasanaa
Parasanaa is a genus of bush-cricket found in India. It is represented by a single species, Parasanaa donovani[1][2][3]
| Parasanaa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudophyllinae |
| Supertribe: | Pseudophylliti |
| Tribe: | Cymatomerini |
| Genus: | Parasanaa Beier, 1944 |
| Species: | P. donovani |
| Binomial name | |
| Parasanaa donovani (Donovan, 1834) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
This insect has also been called Typhoptera donovani,[2] Gryllus donovani[3] and Capnoptera donovani. The species was described by Edward Donovan in 1834.[4]
Habits
It is found throughout August on the cactus on which it feeds. It is heavy and sluggish, generally still by day, nestled among the cactus thorns, with the front legs and the long antennae stretched forward onto the plant's surface, parallel to each other. To escape predators it would rather drop from the cactus than take flight. It is more active at night, when it feeds and moves about.[2]
When the thorax is pinched, the insect squirts a slimy yellow fluid from two slits on the dorsal surface of the mesothorax, with a range of three to four inches. One aperture may discharge at first, and the other after the insect is pinched again. Some fluid also oozes out from other apertures over the body and legs, and also from the stumps of broken-off legs.[2]
See also
- Poecilocerus pictus, another squirting grasshopper[2]
- Aularches miliaris, a foam-squirting grasshopper from Myanmar[2]
- Tegra novaehollandiae, a liquid-oozing grasshopper[2]
- Bombardier beetle, which squirts a boiling mixture
References
- Beier (1944) Stett. Entomol. Z. 105: 89.
- R. W. G. Hingston (1927). "The liquid-squirting habit of oriental grasshoppers". Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 75 (1): 65–69. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1927.tb00060.x.
- (2013) Parasanaa donovani (Donovan 1834) from Orthoptera Species File (OSF) Online. Accessed on 2013-01-29.
- Donovan (1834), The Naturalist's Repository. volume 2. As cited on its entry in ZipcodeZoo.com.
External links
- Westwood (1848) color drawing. Via the OSF; Accessed on 2013-01-29.
- Hingston (1927) schematic drawing showing fluid exudation openings. Via the OSF; Accessed on 2013-01-29.