Morphological Study of Different Developmental Stages of Brachytrupes megacephalus Lefebvre, 1827 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) and Their Development in Oued Righ Region (Algerian Sahara)

Abstract

In the Southeast of the Algerian Sahara (Touggourt), a morphological study of Brachytrupes megacephalus was conducted during 2014. According to the damages caused by this cricket through deviation and loss of irrigation water due to deep tunnels dug and damage crops, we found it useful to identify the insect and study the external appearance of this cricket. The results show that B. megacephalus has an annual life cycle with five nymph stages. The mating season is placed normally from mid-March to mid-April. The eggs are with an ovoid shape and a greenish color measured by 3.5 to 4 mm, First nymph stage is with a transparent colors which has a pronotum measured between 1.5 and 2.2 mm with a head between 3 and 4,6 mm and the femur has a length of 5 to 6 mm. Unlike the other nymph stages are yellow-orange with a darker head than the rest of the body. The adults of this cricket have a pronotum of 5 to 6 mm, the head is between 13 to 14 mm and the femur is from 17 to 22 mm. All these post-embryonic development mature throughout the summer until September, during which the cricket becomes imago.