Two new species Macromotettixoides amplifronta sp. nov. and M. yingjiangensis sp. nov. from Yunnan, are described and illustrated with photographs. An updated key to species of the genus Macromotettixoides is provided.

The genus Phaesticus Uvarov, 1940 is revised here with updated generic characteristics and a key to the species. New synonyms and a new combination are proposed: 1) Phaesticus Uvarov, 1940 = Flatocerus Liang & Zheng, 1984 syn. nov.; 2) P. mellerborgi (Stål, 1855) = P. insularis (Hancock, 1907) syn. nov., = P. carinatus Zheng, 1998 syn. nov., = P. azemii Mahmood, Idris & Salmah, 2007 syn. nov., = F. brachynotus Liang, Chen & Chen, 2008 syn. nov., = P. uvarovi Storozhenko & Dawwrueng, 2015 syn. nov.; 3) P. moniliantennatus (Günther, 1940) = F. nankunshanensis Liang & Zheng, 1984 syn. nov., = F. wuyishanensis Zheng, 1991 syn. nov., = F. guizhouensis Wang, 1992 syn. nov., = F. daqingshanensis Zheng & Jiang, 1998 syn. nov., = F. dentifemura Zheng, 2003 syn. nov.; 4) P. hainanensis (Liang, 1988) comb. nov. = F. hainanensis Liang, 1988. Intraspecific variation in the lengths of the hind pronotal processes and hind wings in the family Tetrigidae are discussed in detail.

To determine the grasshopper species composition, altitudinal distribution patterns, and their main drivers, we conducted a study in Xizang using 33 sample plots ranging from 600 to 4100 m. Grasshoppers were collected from August to October during 2020–2022 using sweep nets. A total of 1159 grasshoppers from six families, 28 genera, and 44 species were identified, with Omocestus cuonaensis and Aserratus eminifrontus as the dominant species, comprising 30.03% and 10.26% of total grasshoppers, respectively. The results showed that species richness and the Margalef richness index of grasshopper communities decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing altitude, peaking at 1100–1600 m and lowest values at 2600–3100 m. Similarly, the Shannon–Wiener index and Simpson dominance index also decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with an increase in altitude, showing the highest and lowest values at 600–1100 m and 3100–3600 m, respectively. The Jaccard similarity coefficients among grasshopper communities varied from 0 to 0.40 across altitudinal gradients, indicating different degrees of dissimilarity. The results of Pearson correlation analyses showed that the Shannon–Wiener index, species richness, Margalef richness index, and Simpson dominance index of grasshopper communities were significantly negatively correlated with the temperature factors and soil pH, but they were significantly positively correlated with the moisture factors. Hierarchical partitioning identified annual mean temperature–daily difference, precipitation in the coldest season, and driest month precipitation as the primary factors explaining variance in grasshopper community diversity in Xizang. These findings provided greater insights into the mechanisms underlying insect community structure, distribution patterns, and diversity in Xizang ecosystems, including implications for the effects of global warming on insect communities.

Whole mitogenomes are a useful data source for a wide variety of research goals due to the vastly cheaper sequencing cost and the far less demanding high-quality templates. The mitogenome has demonstrated great potential in resolving phylogenetic questions in Orthoptera at different taxonomic scales as well as exploring patterns of molecular and morphological character evolutions. In this study, the complete mitogenome of Alulacrisshilinensis (Zheng, 1977) was sequenced using next-generation sequencing, the characteristics of the mitogenome are presented briefly, and the phylogeny of the Melanoplinae and Catantopinae was reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference frameworks. The results show that the genus was consistently assigned to the subfamily Melanoplinae rather than Catantopinae in all phylogenetic trees deduced from different datasets under different frameworks, and this finding is entirely consistent with its morphological characters. Therefore, it is more appropriate to place the genus Alulacris in Melanoplinae rather than in Catantopinae.

A new species, Tuberfemurus viridulus sp. nov. is described and illustrated with photographs. The new species is similar to T. torulisinotus Deng, 2019, but differs from the latter by broader vertex, invisible frontal costa in profile, distinctly truncate apex of hind pronotal process, and two large triangular projections on lower outer carinae of hind femur. An updated key to species of Tuberfemurus is provided. Simultaneously, the complete mitochondrial genome of Tuberfemurus viridulus sp. nov. is sequenced and analyzed. The total length of the assembled mitogenome is 15,060 bp with 37 typical mitochondrial genes and a non-coding region (A + T-rich region). The order and orientation of the gene arrangement pattern are identical to that of most Tetrigoidea species. All PCGs initiate with the standard start codon of ATN, except ATP6 with GAC and ND1 with TTG; and terminate with the complete stop codon (TAA/TAG) or with an incomplete T-codon. This data could provide the genome information available for Tetrigoidea and facilitate phylogenetic studies of related insects.

Clarifying phylogenetic position and reconstructing robust phylogeny of groups using various evidences are an eternal theme for taxonomy and systematics. In this study, the complete mitogenomes of Longzhouacris mirabilis, Ranacris albicornis, and Conophyma zhaosuensis were sequenced using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and the characteristics of the mitogenomes are presented briefly. The mitogenomes of the three species are all circular molecules with total lengths of 16,164 bp, 15,720 bp, and 16,190 bp, respectively. The gene structures and orders, as well as the characteristics of the mitogenomes, are similar to those of other published mitogenomes in Caelifera. The phylogeny of the main subfamilies of Acrididae with prosternal process was reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) frameworks. The results showed that the genus Emeiacris consistently fell into the subfamily Melanoplinae rather than Oxyinae, and the genus Choroedocus had the closest relationship with Shirackiacris of the subfamily Eyprepocnemidinae in both phylogenetic trees deduced from mitogenome protein coding genes (PCGs). This finding is entirely consistent with the morphological characters, which indicate that Emeiacris belongs to Melanoplinae and Choroedocus belongs to Eyprepocnemidinae. In addition, the genera Conophymacris and Xiangelilacris, as well as Ranacris and Menglacris, are two pairs of the closest relatives, but their phylogenetic positions need further study to clarify.