3 '976 Vol. 87, Nos. 7 & 8, September & O ctober 1976 189 SYSTEMATICS, BEHAVIOR &. BIONOMICS OF COSTA RICAN KATYDIDS OF THE GENUS SPHYROMETOPA (ORTHOPTERA: TETTIGONHDAE: AGROECIINAE) David C. Rentz ABSTRACT: Katydids of the genus Sphyrometopa are aberrant members of the Agioeciinae. They are found in primary growth forests in low population numbers which increase when windfalls or man's activity create openings in the forest providing herbaceous secondary growth. Nymphs are green and live in low, green herbaceous growth and move to the dry leaves of primary forests at maturity. Two species are known: one from the mountains of central Costa Rica, the other from the Atlantic lowlands of that same country. DESCRIPTORS: behavior; distribution; karyotype Agroeciinae Katydids of the genus Sphyrometopa Carl occur in primary and secondary forest habitats in central and eastern Costa Rica. The systematic position of the genus has been unclear and the bionomics of the species unreported in the literature. The author's numerous visits to Costa Rica have provided the opportunity to study the species of Sphyrometopa and provide observations on their life history strategies. In this paper I present a clarification of the genus, redescription of species and observations on the biology and bionomics of species. TAXONOMIC HISTORY Sphyrometopa was proposed by Carl in his 1908 revision of the conocephalids in the Geneva Museum. He included a single species, iS*. femorata Carl, and was unaware that Rehn (1905) had described the same species but had placed it in the genus Conocephalm. Both species were described from single females. Later Karny (1912) in his Genera Insectorum section on the Copiphorinae listed both names separately and included Carl's original figures. He too was unaware of the synonymic nature of the two names. The subfamilial placement of Sphyrometopa is not entirely clearcut. Sphyrometopa species bear characters making them difficult to place in any Accepted for publication: March 9, 1976 ^Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118 ENT. NEWS, 87: 7 & 8: 189 -202, September & October 1976
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