SCUDDER. — GENERA OF MELANOPLI. 201 



metasteruum lying behind the lobes transverse, more than 

 twice as broad as long ; legniina normally present. 

 f^. Tegmina always present ; sides of first abdominal segment 

 with a distinct tympanum. 



g^. Fastigium of vertex plane or convex ; eyes separated 

 widely, the space between them twice as broad as the 

 frontal costa ; pronotum furnished with distinct percur- 

 rent lateral carince ; tegmina abbreviate ; cerci apically 



acuminate Paratylotropidia. 



g^. Fastigium of vertex more or less depressed or with 

 elevated lateral margins ; eyes separated narrowly, at 

 most but little further apart than the width of the 

 frontal costa ; pronotum with indistinct * or no lateral 

 carinae ; tegmina fully developed or abbreviate ; cerci 

 variable, rarely acuminate apically. 



h}. Inferior genicular lobe of hind femora with at least 

 a darker basal spot or transverse band ; cerci of male 

 variable, often enlarging apically. 



i^. Dorsum of pronotum rarely or never twice as long 

 as the average breadth, generally only half as long 

 again, even in the male, generally constricted more 

 or less in the middle ; antennae even when longest (as 

 in Mel. pachardii Scudd., Mel. nitidus Scudd.) no 

 longer than the hind femora, and only twice as long 

 as the pronotum alone ; face rarely as declivent as in 

 Paroxya ; prozona usually a half longer than the 

 metazona. 



j^. Head not large in proportion to pronotum, nor 

 prominent, but little longer than the prozona, unless 

 (as in Mel. spretus Uhl. e. g.) the latter is distinctly 

 transverse ; pronotum in no way subsellate, nor flar- 

 ing in front; tegmina, when fully developed, nar- 

 row, rarely {Mel. fasciatus Barnst.,t Mel. dawsoni 

 Scudd.,) rat'her broad, but then very distinctly 

 tapering, more or less tapering in distal half, at 



* In a few species they are tolerably distinct. 



t In form of tegmina and sparseness of neuration, tlie macropterous form of this 

 species is the Melanoplus most nearly allied to Phoetaliotes, and like it, the species 

 is dimorphic as to tegmina. 



