Oecanthus salvii sp. nov. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae): A new tree cricket species from Modoc County in northeast California

A new species of Oecanthus is described from extreme northeast California. Oecanthus salviisp. nov. is currently known only from Lake Annie in Modoc County, California, and occurs on sagebrush (Artemisia) and rabbitbrush (Ericameria). It has the narrow tegmina, antennal markings, metanotal gland configuration, and trilling song found in the Oecanthus nigricornis species group. Song details and morphology, including the shape of the subgenital plate and copulatory blades, are provided in this paper. This new species has been given the common name of sage tree cricket.

Oecanthus nigricornis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) as the first known host of Stylogaster neglecta (Diptera: Conopidae)

The conopid fly Stylogaster neglecta Williston (Diptera: Conopidae) is a parasitoid with no known host. We report this species as the first recorded dipteran parasitoid of Oecanthus nigricornis Walker (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) (black-horned tree crickets). We reared field-collected O. nigricornis juveniles over several months in 2017 and found that larval S. neglecta emerged from them during late July into August. We estimated the incubation period for S. neglecta larvae to be around 30 days based on the length of time it took for them to emerge from the host and pupate (subsequently all hosts died). We documented several cases of multiple parasitism. In 2018, we dissected O. nigricornis sampled from four sites across southern Ontario, Canada and upstate New York, United States of America and found that the percentage of juvenile O. nigricornis parasitised ranged 2–39%. Further sampling will be necessary to determine whether this variation represents consistent population differences or between-year variation in parasitism.

Orthoptera and allies in the Maritime provinces, Canada: new records and updated provincial checklists

We provide an updated checklist of Orthoptera and their allies for each Maritime province of Canada with details for 21 new species records. Drumming Katydid (Meconema thalassinum), recorded from Nova Scotia (NS) and Prince Edward Island (PEI), and Sprinkled Grasshopper (Chloealtis conspersa), recorded from New Brunswick (NB) are reported for the first time from the Maritimes as a whole. We report range extensions in the Maritime region for Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae; NB), Treetop Bush Katydid (Scudderia fasciata; NS), Short-legged Camel Cricket (Ceuthophilus brevipes; PEI), Spotted Camel Cricket (Ceuthophilus maculatus; PEI), Roesel’s Shield-backed Katydid (Roeseliana roesellii; NS), and Black-horned Tree Cricket (Oecanthus nigricornis; PEI). Short-winged Mole Cricket (Neoscapteriscus abbreviatus; NB) and European Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa; NS) are reported as adventives (non-native species that are believed to be not yet established), new to Canada from the Maritimes. Other new records for species not known to be established are Lined Earwig (Doru taeniatum; NS), Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae; PEI), American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana; NB), Brown Cockroach (Periplaneta brunnea; PEI), Smooth Cockroach (Nyctibora laevigata; NB), West Indian Leaf Cockroach (Blaberus discoidalis; NB), an unidentified Parcoblatta species (NB), Brown-banded Cockroach (Supella longipalpa; PEI), Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa; NB), and American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana; NS).