Ornebius, Monoplistinae, Mogoplistidae
Workbook
Subfamily Monoplistinae
Recognition (from Otte and Alexander 1983 (Monographs Acad. nat. Sci. Philad. 22).
body length 4-13mm
body covered in scales
pronotum relatively long
male forewings rarely reaching end of abdomen, hindwings absent
females always wingless
hind tibiae without moveable spurs
clypeus extending onto dorsum of head
Genus Ornebius
Ornebius is the largest genus in this taxon and is defined by the following features:
body length more than 7.5 mm
last dorsal segment of abdomen not black between cerci
genital processes brown to pale brown or whitish
posterior margin of forewings with continuous black or brown band or with 3 darkened areas
tibiae I and II slightly or strongly banded
front of mirror not hidden beneath pronotum
p.386 Otte and Alexander
Home Records
Individuals of this genus found at home on two occasions.
11/2/15 - immature male found under mat on front deck. short forewings, just extending from beneath pronotum. body length 8mm
5/5/18 Female found on bedroom window.
Strongly banded legs I and II indicate that these crickets belong to Illaroo Group of species. Other features of this group are:
face usually with contrasting markings;
10th tergite of abdomen usually with two tufts of setae near centre;
forewings often with 3 dark marks along posterior margin
Ornebius dandiri
Otte and Alexander report that there is only one species in the Illaroo Group that occurs in NSW - Ornebius dandiri (type locality in central coastal NSW).
Recognition:
Males.
body colour brownish
legs banded
face without distinct markings of O. antakira
top of frons pale
dividing suture of rostrum black
maxillary palpi brown, length of 5th segment 1.83X width and 1.29X length of 4th segent
lateral lobes of pronotum dark brown, nearly black; dorsal surface lighter
posterior margin of forewing has 3 dark spots - spot at posterior medial corner very indistinct
anterior portion of forewing including anterior portion of mirror brown
posterior mirror vein largely dark
file with 160 teeth
femora and tibiae marked as in O. antakira
tarsi I and II; 1st segment with dark proximal and distal bands
tibia III with 3 bands
dorsum of abdomen dark brown with two spine shaped projections on 10th tergite.
venter of abdomen somewhat lighter than dorsum.
genital processes brownish, slightly darker at tips and dark brown at base
cerci unbanded and with small patches of dark scales
Male in above home sighting matches most of these criteria, although cannot use wing morphology as the individual is immature.
Otte and Alexander
Otte and Alexander
Females
head coloured as in male, pronotum darkest along lower margin of lateral lobes
legs marked as in male
dorsum of abdomen brown darker than pronotum
ovipositor 4.1mm long, bowed at base but straight through most of its length, 2.22X long as pronotum
cerci with scattered dark scales
This is a workbook page … a part of our website where we record the observations and references used in making species identifications. The notes will not necessarily be complete. They are a record for our own use, but we are happy to share this information with others.