THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



23 



THE LONG-LEGGED GRASSHOPPER. 



*Cliiiot)h'iir<i incJanopIeiira Scudd. 



{Steiroxys melcuiopleiira Scudd.) 



(Fig. 22.) 



General Appearance. — This insect is one. of the nearly wingless 

 long-horn grasshoppers, the wings being rednced to mere pads on the 

 l)aek. The general color is light yellowish-brown with dark brown 

 variations. The abdomens are slightly darkened on the sides; the onter 

 surfaces of the hind femora are also dark. The lower portions of the 

 pronotum are bright yellow; the legs are very long, the hind femora 

 being over three times as long as the pronotum. The females are easily 

 recognized by their straight ovipositor, which is abruptly pointed at 

 the apex and is not as long as the posterior femora. The full-grown 

 forms are from one and a quarter to one and one half inches long, the 

 ovipositor making the female much longer. 



Pig. 22. — The long-legged grasshopper, Clinopletira inelano pleura Scudd.. 

 (After Hunter. Courtesy Cal. Exp. Sta.) 



Female. 



Life History. — The life history of this species is not well known, but 

 is probably as follows : The females deposit their eggs in the late fall 

 upon various kinds of vegetation. The young, light-colored forms hatch 

 in the spring and begin feeding in the grassy fields and woodlands 

 immediately upon emergence and continue to become numerous until 

 summer when mating and egg-laying begin, continuing until autumn. 



Distribution. — This species is more often met with in the San 

 Joaquin Valley and southern parts of the State, having been collected 

 in Fresno. Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Tulare counties. 



*Clinopleura melanopleura var. infuscata Caudell is smaller and darker than 

 the above species and somewhat resembles C. flavomarginata Scudd., but smaller 

 and with the lateral lobes, of the pronotum more distinctly margined and yellow 

 posteriorly. . - • - ^ 



Clinopleura flavomariyinata Scudd., a dark brick-red and yellowish form closely 

 resembling the long-legged grasshopper and C. minuta Caudell, also a dark species 

 but much smaller than any of the others, also occur in the central and southern 

 parts of the State. 



