PSYCH K. 



NOTES ON NEW ENGLAND ACRIDIIDAE, IV,— ACRIDIINAE.— IV. 



BY ALBERT P. MORSE, WELLESLEY, MASS. 



25. Melanoplus Stal. 



Melanoplus Stiil 1873. Recensio or- 

 thopterorum, I, p. 79. 



To this genus belong most of the 

 locusts of medium size that swarm in 

 our fields in late summer and early 

 autumn in countless numbers and are 

 popularly called '' grasshoppers." 



36. Melanoplus atlanis Riley. 

 Figs. 36, a, b, c, d. 



Caloptenus atlanis. Riley, Ann. Rep. 

 Ins. Mo., VII, 169,(1875). 



Melanoplus atlanis. Fernald, Orth. 

 N. E., 12, ; Beutenmiiller, Orth. N. Y., 

 306; Scudder, Rev. Melanopli, 17S. 



Melanoplus atlantis. Comstock, Introd., 

 no; Morse, List, 106 (typ. error). 



Measurements from 208 ^, 135 $ :, 

 — Antenna : $ , 7-8.5 ; 5 6.5-8. H. 

 fem. : ^,10-13; 9,10-14. Teg.:^, 

 15-21 ; ?, I4-5-22- Body: $, 17-21. 5; 

 9, 16-27. Total: t? J 20.5-27; 9, 

 20-29 '"'^- '^^^ tegmina pass the hind 

 femora from 1.5 to 6 mm. 



The separation of the females of this 

 species from those of femur-rubrum will 

 cause the novice considerable difficulty, 

 and examples are occasionally met with 



that puzzle even the expert. The char- 

 acters presented by the prosternal spine, 

 the cerci, and the ovipositor as indicated 

 in the key are the most valuable and 

 when summed up will in all but a very 

 few cases enable one to decide with 

 certainty. 



The hind tibiae of this species are 

 normally red, but in about ten per cent 

 of the specimens they are either reddish 

 at tip and otherwise colored at base, or 

 luteous, glaucous, or bluish. In this 

 respect males are more variable than 

 females. 



This species is found over the whole 

 of New England from Nantucket to 

 Canada, from the seashore to the alpine 

 tops of the White Mts. It appears early 

 in the season (June 17-21) and is found 

 late in the fall (Nov. 16). 



It is seldom found except in dry situ- 

 ations, and is most abundant in hilly 

 regions where it frequents sandy or 

 gravelly spots and the slopes on light 

 soil. In favorable localities it is found 

 in immense numbers and causes much 

 damage. Probably to this species should 

 be laid much of the destruction attri- 

 buted to femur-rubrum in early accounts 

 of locust ravages in New England. 



