PSYCHE. 



A LIST OF THE ORTHOPTERA OF ILLINOIS.— IV. 



BY JEROME MCNEILL, FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. 



ACRIDIDAE (ACRIDIINI, TETTIGINAE). 



74. Schistocerca americana Drury. 

 Of rare occurrence north of the center 

 of the state but common southward. I 

 have taken a few specimens in Rock 

 Island County, the earliest recorded 

 appearance being Sept. 20th. 



75. Acridium alutaceumHa.tr. The 

 only species of this genus found in Rock 

 Island County. It is found sparingly 

 along rail-roads and in waste ground, 

 but there is a very small district where 

 it is extremely abundant. This is a 

 little strip of ground a few hundred 

 feet in length along the C. B. & Q R. 

 R. about one mile and a half southwest 

 of Colona, Henry Co. Prof. Garman 

 with a party from Illinois University first 

 stumbled upon this locality a few years 

 ago, and I visited it in r SS9. This 

 colony has established itself in a patch 

 of Johnson grass, a species of Androp- 

 ogon, which seems to have furnished it 

 with the conditions exactly fitted for its 

 development. These specimens have 

 the dorsal stripe almost always distinct. 

 Colona, Aug. 12th. 



*j6. Acridium emctrgiiicitum Scudd. 

 Reported by Mr. Thomas as having 

 been taken a few times in the state. 



*77- Acridium rubiginosum Scudd. 

 Said by Mr. Thomas to be a rather 



rare species found only in the neigh- 

 borhood of oak groves. 



*jS. Melctnoplus spretus Thomas. 

 Stray specimens have been identified by 

 Mr. Thomas, but it cannot be consid- 

 ered a resident species, as Illinois is out- 

 side of even the "Temporary region" 

 as determined by the U. S. entomologi- 

 cal commission. 



79. Melcinoplus citlanis Riley. This 

 wide spread species occurs throughout 

 the state. It seems however to be very 

 unequally distributed. In some local- 

 ities it is about as common as M.fe?nur- 

 rubrum while in others it may be very 

 rare. In Rock Island County it is usu- 

 ally rare or at least uncommon but on a 

 sand hill an eighth of a mile south of 

 Moline bridge on Rock River it is very 

 abundant. As this sand hill shelters a 

 number of species which occur not at 

 all or rarely elsewhere in the neighbor- 

 hood it may be well to say a few words 

 as to its character. It consists entirely 

 of fine clean sand which is in places 

 covered with a thin soil which supports 

 a scanty vegetation of willows and sand- 

 burr but which is for the most part 

 wholly barren. This hill rises gradu- 

 ally on every side from the Rock Rive r 

 bottom. It is about a half mile in 

 length and only a few hundred yards in 

 width at the widest. At the highest 



