FOOD DIET OF DOCIOSTAURUS MAROCCANUS THUMBERG, 1815 (ORTHOPTERA, ACRIDIDAE) IN ITS GREGARIOUS STATE: A STUDY IN SIDI BELABBES REGION, ALGERIA (2010)

Abstract

This study of diet and food preferences in the gregarious phase of Dociostaurus maroccanus (THUMBERG, 1815), was carried out in the wild during the months of June and July 2010 in the region of Marhoum (State of Sidi Bel Abbes). The determination of the diet and food choice was made by the method of faeces content analysis, which is based on the recognition of epidermises fragments of the consumed plants, using alight microscope. The results of this study show that D.maroccanus is a polyphagous species whose adult have a tendency to overconsume of Poaceae (Gramineae). Poaceae account for a large part in the diet of adult males and females of the gregarious populations with over 60% of the total food spectrum, compared with the other consumed plant families which are very diverse but whose consumption frequencies are very low. Regardless of the plant species, males and females show no specific food choices, especially in the consumption of Dicotyledons. Among Poaceae species, and compared to other species, Lolium multiflorum is highly consumed both by males and females, with the exception of Stipa parviflora whose frequency of consumption is different.