MEEMIRIA. 37 



MERMIRIA, Stal. 



Mermiria, Stal, Recens. Orthopt. i. p. 102 (1873). 



The insects which have been separated from the remainder of the Tryxalinae under 

 the generic name Mermiria, Stal, are among the most conspicuous North- American 

 locusts. They occur chiefly in the arid portions of Northern Mexico and the adjoining 

 regions of the United States. Several species, however, are much more widely 

 distributed, and frequent localities as far distant as the New England States and even 

 the adjoining Canadian territory. Most of them are partial to open country, where 

 they make their homes among bunch grasses, although two or three of them also 

 occur in sparsely timbered districts. They prefer sandy hill-sides and knolls to flat 

 country, and become much more plentiful on grounds that have not been burnt over 

 for several years. Most of the species are variable in colour, but their structural 

 features are more permanent. 



feebly broadening below, straight when viewed obliquely; lateral foveolse invisible from above, very 

 broad triangular, rather obscure, the apex of the triangle in the middle above ; antennae half as 

 long as the tegmina, depressed, triquetral, at least basally, slender throughout and uniformly tapering. 

 Pronotum rather long, the dorsum nearly plane, the lateral lobes nearly vertical, the median carina 

 distinct but slight, the lateral carina? forming rounded shoulders, subparallel and not very distant on 

 the prozona, gently divergent on the metazona ; prozona distinctly longer than the metazona ; lateral 

 lobes a little inflexed above, longer than high, the front and hind margins subparallel in lower half. 

 Prosternum with a transverse quadrangular blunt boss ; mesosternal lobes separated by a quadrate space 

 considerably narrower than the lobes themselves, the metasternal lobes by a space half as wide. Tegmina 

 and wings reaching the tip of the abdomen, both slender, the latter unusually so. Hind legs slender, 

 the femora reaching the tip of the abdomen, the tibia? with about fifteen spines on outer row." 



1. Acantherus piperatus, Scudder. 



Acantherus piper atus, Scudd. Proc. Dav. Acad. Nat. Sci. ix. p. 23, t. 3. fig. 3 1 . 



" Dark cinereo-fuscous, from blackish markings on a testaceous ground. Head reddish testaceous, almost 

 wholly overlaid with black longitudinal markings, on the summit broken into points, except for a rather 

 broad median stripe; frontal costa as narrow above as the basal joint of the uniformly luteous antennsjo, 

 feebly sulcate below. Pronotum testaceous above, reddish testaceous on lateral lobes, heavily sprinkled 

 with black puncta above, wanting on a narrow stripe bordering the lateral carina?, heavily striped or 

 clouded with blackish on the lateral lobes, especially above, and also punctate, the lateral carinse faintly 

 divergent in front, the front margin faintly, the hind margin slightly, convex. Tegmina flecked with 

 fuscous, pretty uniformly and rather sparsely and slightly infuscated on basal fourth, the anal area 

 subcinereous, flecked with fuscous ; wings pellucid, growing gradually infuscated in distal half, the base 

 faintly tinged with greenish. Hind femora dull testaceous, more or less infuscated, especially above, 

 with three broad clouds, the outer two separated by a pregenicular, broad, dull, luteous annulus ; hind 

 tibiae with a similar but narrower and clearer postgenicular annulus breaking the black proximal half, 

 the distal half orange-red, the spines black, except basally." 



Length of body 33, of antenna? 12-5, of tegmina 25, of hind femora 19, of hind tibiae 17'5 millim. 



Hab. Nokth America, La Cueva, Organ Mts. (Townsend 2 ). 

 Two females. 



