December iSgS.] 



PSYCHE. 



293 



Greylock (3500 ft.) ; but Arctic Amer- 

 ican specimens are said by Scudder to 

 be distinctly larger than those from 

 New England or Nebraska. The color 

 of the hind tibiae is very variable ; these 

 are normally red, either deep or pale in 

 tint, yet in many males are luteous or 

 even greenish. In this particular also 

 specimens vary according to locality. 



It makes its appearance early, reach- 

 ing maturity in late June or early July, 

 and in the White Mountain region is 

 not uncommon in early September. 

 Like its ally /er>:ur-rii/>rinii, it is partial 

 to damp or moist surroundings and I 

 have found it most common in the 

 thick, succulent growth of grass in 

 meadows and springy fields. Blatchley 

 found it in an open peat-bog in Indiana. 



I have taken it at Norway, Me., No. 

 Conway, Jackson, and the summit of 

 Mt. Washington, N. H. ; Hyde Park, 

 Jay, Montgomery, Newport, Troy, Wood- 

 stock, and on Ascutney Mt., Vt. ; Mt. 

 Greylock and Winchendon, Mass., and 

 have received it from Hudson, Me. 

 (F. P. Briggs). 



42. Melanoplus minor Scudd. 



Figs. 42, a. 



Calopteniis minor. Scudder, Proc. 

 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., XVII, 478 



(1875)- 



Melanoplus minor. Morse, List, 106; 

 Beutenmiiller, Orth. N. Y., 307 ; Scud- 

 der, Rev. Melanopli, 337, pi. x.xii, lig. 9. 



Measurements from 223 ^, 14^ 9 ; 



— Antenna: $, 6.7-7.5; ?■ 7-S. H. 

 fern. : $ , lo-ii ; 9, 12-13.5. Teg.: 

 (?, 11-15 (iiverage 12-13); 9, 13.5- 

 iS. Body: (^,15-18.5; 9 , 19-24 mm- 

 The body about reaches the end of 

 the hind femora ; the tegmina are usually 

 I to 2 mm., shorter, though one male 

 has them extending 2 mm. beyond the 

 femora. 



The female of this species resembles 

 most that of (ollinus from which it can be 

 readily distinguished, however, by the 

 form of the scoop of the upper valves 

 of the ovipositor. The hind tibiae are 

 very variable, ranging from cherry-red 

 to greenish or blue. Red tibiae are 

 more common among the females (25- 

 Zy/o^ $ 17-20%); among the males, 

 however, they are frequently glaucous 

 at base and pinkish at tip. 



This is the earliest member of the 

 genus to appear in spring, adults having 

 been taken June 7. By the 20th or 

 25th of the month, according to weather 

 and lay of the land it is quite com- 

 mon and this is the best time to col- 

 lect it in series, before the advent of 

 the swarms of atlanis, femur-ruhrum 

 and collinus which shortly appear. I 

 have taken examples as late as Aug. 20 ' 

 but at that time they are very scarce 

 and while they may be found in Sept. 

 or later are not to be expected. 



I have found it most numerous among 

 sweet vernal and blue grasses {Anthox- 

 anthum odoratum, Poa pralensis) in 

 pastures and mowing-lands on gravelly 

 or sandy upland soils. Its flight is 

 seldom more than a few feet in length. 



