248 



PSYCHE. 



[August 1893. 



tuIatus,femoratiis, — or the reverse. The 

 advantage of this arrangement is that it 

 is easy to remember and greatly facili- 

 tates comparison of the species most 

 resembling each other, thus, mancus and 

 scudderi, atlanis and femur-rub rum, etc. 

 The terminology of species is that of 

 Scudder's Revision. The other works 

 referred to are either general treatises 

 or those dealing especially with New 

 England locusts, familiar to the student 

 of Orthoptera and listed in previous 

 parts of these Notes. Two articles by 

 Mr. Scudder of especial interest in this 

 connection will be found in Psyche, 

 (1896), p. 367, and the Proc. Boston 

 Soc. Nat. Hist., XIX, p. 284, the former 

 containing a key to the Melanopli which 

 may be of assistance to the student. 

 Certain features of this I have em- 

 bodied in my own, which, however, like 

 those in previous parts of these notes, is 

 constructed with especial reference to 

 the needs of the novice in determining 

 specimens, artificial characters being 

 frequently used instead of systematic, 

 which are often appreciable only after 

 long study of a group. Our species 

 will all be readily recognized with the 

 e.\ception of the females of certain 

 species of Melanoplus. These are, 

 without exception, the most difficult to 

 discriminate of all our locusts, owing to 

 the variability of every available charac- 

 ter, — width of interspace, form of pros- 

 ternal spine, valves of ovipositor, cerci, 

 markings, etc. 



The present group is much less attrac- 

 tively colored than the Oedipodinae 

 though in the living state several of the 

 species are decidedly handsome. While 

 the prevailing color of most of the 

 species of Melanoplus is dull olivaceous, 

 a striking variation occurs in fetmir- 

 rubruni^ atlanis, and minor, individuals 

 of both sexes being occasionally found 

 which have the face, top of head and 

 pronotum bright rose-red. Other color- 

 variations are noted in connection with 

 the various species. There is in most 

 species of Melanoplus considerable 

 variation in color locally, according to 

 the character of the station where found, 

 and also seasonally, whether collected 

 early or late in the fall. As a rule 

 specimens collected after a number of 

 hard frosts are duller, darker and more 

 suffused than summer examples, the 

 coloration of the individual being appar- 

 ently considerably modified by such ex- 

 posure. 



In the preparation of this article I 

 have examined over 3000 New England 

 specimens collected chiefly in person 

 and now in my collection, each species 

 being represented, save in two instances, 

 by a large series of specimens. In 

 addition, I have examined for special 

 points, a considerable number belong- 

 ing to Mr. Scudder, to whom I am 

 indebted for favors in a variety of ways, 

 and whose publications I have freely 

 used, with the result of greatly lighten- 

 ing mv labors. 



