Researchers from the Mamirawa Institute have discovered two new insect species in the Amazon region – Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

Researchers from the Mamirawa Institute for Sustainable Development, a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), have recorded two new species of insect found in the Amazon region, the cricket (Eucanthus buccexu(and predatory hope)Spinaraptor crown).

The cricket was discovered in the Amanya Sustainable Development Reserve, in the municipality of Mara (AM). “Cockroaches Eucanthus“Popularly called tree cockroaches, they can be easily distinguished from other cockroaches by their pale green body, transparent wings with mirror areas and well-developed harps,” explains biologist and researcher at the Riuler Correa Acosta Institute.

In total, this type Eucanthus It has more than 70 species spread throughout the planet, but this is the second species found in the Amazon region. To discover and identify a new species, Acosta says an insect must go through a “game of seven mistakes.”

“To define a genre, it is necessary to have knowledge of all the literature that has already been published, so that a comparison can be made between what is similar or different. Thus, when comparing the collected material with what has already been published, it will be possible to find distinct external or internal structures .

Therefore, the cricket was detected based on the sum of external and internal morphological characteristics, but especially the absence of spots on the antennae, the vocal signals emitted by the males, and the morphology of the phallic complex.

“During courtship, which involves the males making sounds through the friction between their wings, the males expose a gland located in the upper part of the chest to the females as a nuptial gift, which makes copulation last as the female feeds on the fluid secreted by the gland,” the researcher concludes.

The scientific name “buxixu” refers to the plant Japanese climatePopularly called congenital, the species is commonly found feeding on fruits and leaves.

Hope, found near Manaus (AM), is part of a new genus that includes four other species. The genus name comes from Latin: spina (thorn) + raptor (thief), meaning “thorn thief”. “This insect is characterized by its long and narrow body, the shape of its limbs (the area responsible for copulation) and its front legs, which have long spines,” explains biologist and researcher at the institute, Diego Méndez.

This species is found mainly near water bodies with plants of the family Araceaepopularly known as “Taja”, which is the scientific name for hope.

“The first time I found it, during the early hours of the morning in a forest near a stream in Manaus, I immediately recognized it as a find. However, because it was new, I had difficulties finding more specimens and formalizing its description.” “Only years later, I realized that this hope lives in clusters of plants known as tagas, near watercourses, which inspired the name of the new species.”

The main characteristics of the insect are its nocturnal routine and its feeding on small insects that hunt under vegetation. “The spines on their legs are used to catch and hold prey while the hope devours it,” Mendes concludes.

Although little known to the public, both insects play a crucial role in the food chain and ecosystem. For example, some species of cockroaches act as seed dispersers on forest floors.