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Article

Distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and Life History of Galepsus lenticularis (Mantodea: Tarachodidae)

by
Bianca Greyvenstein
1,*,
Hannalene Du Plessis
1,
Nicolas Moulin
2 and
Johnnie Van den Berg
1
1
Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
2
Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2020, 11(2), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11020119
Submission received: 15 January 2020 / Revised: 30 January 2020 / Accepted: 2 February 2020 / Published: 11 February 2020

Abstract

Galepsus Stäl is a genus within the Mantodea and has hardly been studied in Africa. The distribution of the Galepsus genus in Southern Africa was established, based on insect collection records, and the biology of Galepsus (Lygdamia) lenticularis Saussure, was studied. In Southern Africa, 11 species of Galepsus were recorded. The first record of Galepsus (Onychogalepsus) centralis Beier, in South Africa was recorded during this study. The mean number of eggs per ootheca was 49.8 (±21.1) and unfertilized oothecae were significantly shorter and contained fewer eggs than hatched and unhatched oothecae, suggesting that females might invest fewer resources into production of oothecae that will not produce prodigy. No parthenogenesis was observed during this study. Although the mean duration of the male and female nymphal stages were similar, longevity of adult females (91.2 ± 35.0 days) was three times longer than that of males (26.3 ± 15.4 days). This phenomenon as well as the long period (20 ± 14.1 days) between oviposition of different oothecae, and duration of the incubation period (20.25 ± 6.3 days) suggests a survival strategy to reduce competition between siblings. Total longevity of males (166.9 ± 38.8) and females (252.9 ± 54.2) differed significantly. This study provides information on the distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and describes the biology of G. lenticularis under captive breeding conditions, and contributes to the understanding of various biological aspects of G. lenticularis which has never been studied before.
Keywords: biology; competition; distribution; mantis; resources biology; competition; distribution; mantis; resources

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MDPI and ACS Style

Greyvenstein, B.; Du Plessis, H.; Moulin, N.; Van den Berg, J. Distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and Life History of Galepsus lenticularis (Mantodea: Tarachodidae). Insects 2020, 11, 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11020119

AMA Style

Greyvenstein B, Du Plessis H, Moulin N, Van den Berg J. Distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and Life History of Galepsus lenticularis (Mantodea: Tarachodidae). Insects. 2020; 11(2):119. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11020119

Chicago/Turabian Style

Greyvenstein, Bianca, Hannalene Du Plessis, Nicolas Moulin, and Johnnie Van den Berg. 2020. "Distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and Life History of Galepsus lenticularis (Mantodea: Tarachodidae)" Insects 11, no. 2: 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11020119

APA Style

Greyvenstein, B., Du Plessis, H., Moulin, N., & Van den Berg, J. (2020). Distribution of Galepsus spp. in Southern Africa and Life History of Galepsus lenticularis (Mantodea: Tarachodidae). Insects, 11(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11020119

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