''Lepidogryllus'' is a genus of

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

, sometimes known as mottled field crickets, in the family

Gryllidae The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years (''e.g ...

and

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Modicogryllini ModicogrylliniOtte D, Alexander RD (1983) ''Monographs Acad. nat. Sci. Philad.'' 22: 88. is a tribe of crickets in the family Gryllidae The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Havi ...

. Species have been found in Australia, New Caledonia and Vietnam.Orthoptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0: retrieved 26 August 2019)
/ref>

Description

The head has a prominent white stripe connecting the lateral

ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

, a white chevron of variable size encompassing the median ocellus, and up to six prominent longitudinal stripes on the dorsal surface. The disk of the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

has a mottled appearance, while the lateral lobes are dark dorsally but pale ventrally. The fore tibia bears a large posterior tympanum and usually does not have an anterior one. The fore and mid legs and have few if any markings, while all of the legs are covered in dark brown setae. The male

tegmen A tegmen (: tegmina) designates the modified leathery front wing on an insect particularly in the orders Dermaptera (earwigs), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and similar families), Mantodea (praying mantis), Phasmatodea (stick and leaf insec ...

has an undivided mirror with many minute longitudinal veins throughout. The wings may be long or short, and both long-winged and short-winged individuals can be found in the same location.

Ecology

''Lepidogryllus comparatus'' has been found in dry grassy areas, on stony road banks and under stones in shrubland vegetation. ''Lepidogryllus darthvaderi'' was discovered near a tuft of grass along a road.

Species

''Lepidogryllus'' includes the following (mostly Australian) species: *'' Lepidogryllus badikovi'' Gorochov, 1992 - Vietnam *'' Lepidogryllus comparatus'' Walker, 1869 *'' Lepidogryllus darthvaderi'' Desutter-Grandcolas & Anso, 2016 - New Caledonia *'' Lepidogryllus kimberleyanus'' (Baehr, 1989) *'' Lepidogryllus parvulus'' (Walker, 1869) - type species (as ''Gryllus parvulus'' Walker)

References

External links

*
Images on GBIF: ''Lepidogryllus'' Otte & Alexander, 1983
{{taxonbar, from=Q10557280 Ensifera genera Gryllinae Orthoptera of Asia