PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

 U. 8. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vol. 101 Washington : 1951 No. 3277 



REVISION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN GRASSHOPPERS 

 OF THE CONALCAEA COMPLEX 



By Ashley B. Gurney 



Grasshoppers of the Conalcaea complex inhabit much of Mex- 

 ico and the States of Arizona and New Mexico. They are sometimes 

 encountered in surveys by economic entomologists, and so it is 

 important to clarify the problems of their identification, though 

 these species themselves are not known to be injurious to culti- 

 vated plants. The grasshoppers here treated were formerly re- 

 ferred to the genus Conalcaea alone, but an additional genus is 

 now recognized in an attempt to explain the relationship and dis- 

 tinguishing features of the species more clearly than has previ- 

 ously been done. As now understood, the complex comprises two 

 genera and seven species, and one species includes two subspecies. 

 Two species are described as new. The term "complex" is used 

 primarily for convenience, rather than as a permanent group of 

 nomenclatorial importance, since a presentation of related genera 

 in anything like a final arrangement must await fuller reports on 

 the Mexican forms. 



Characters of the male genitalia, especially the aedeagus, which 

 usually is concealed, have been found very useful, both as specific 

 and generic criteria. Specimens with the aedeagus extracted and 

 allowed to dry exposed at the end of the abdomen are useful and 

 in certain species may give entirely adequate information on 

 aedeagal characters. The most satisfactory preparations of the 

 aedeagus, however, are those preserved in fluid, and for conven- 



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