PROCEEDINGS, 1917. 2ff 



THE LOCUSTIDAE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 



By C. B. Gooderham. 



TO THIS FAMILY of saltatorial Orthoptera belong those insects commonly 

 known as katydids, meadow grasshoppers and camel crickets. They are readily 

 distinguished from the family Acrididae by the following characteristics which 

 are present in all Nova Scotian forms: the long, slender, many jointed antennae, 

 which are much longer than the body; tarsi or feet four jointed; o . ipositor of the female 

 sword-shaped, consisting of four flattened plates and ocelli absent. 



The head in most of our species is somewhat wedge-shaped; the mouth parts are 

 well developed with the mandibles long and sharp pointed. The hearing organ, when 

 present, is situated near the base of the anterior tibia and consists of an oval cavity 

 covered by a thin transparent membrane. The wings when present are well developed, 

 the front pair when in repose slope obliquely downward excepting at the base. The 

 hind pair are folded fan-like beneath the front pair. The hind legs are comparatively 

 long and in most cases very slender. 



The stridulating or musical organ of the male is somewhat similar to that of the 

 male cricket and is situated at the base of the tegmina which overlap at this point. It 

 consists of a slightly rounded, transparent membrane which is crossed by a thickened 

 prominent vein bearing on its under surface a single row of minute file-like teeth. The 

 call or note is produced by spreading the tegmina apart and then shuffling them to- 

 gether again, causing the file-like vein to rub across the veins on the dorsal surface of 

 the other wing cover. Each species of Locustidae possessing stridulating organs has a 

 distinct call or note of its own, and some of them have two different calls, one that is 

 used during the day and one at night. If close attention is given to these calls one 

 can soon learn to distinguish the species by the note. 



Like all other families of the Orthoptera the young of the Locustidae resembles the 

 adult in form, but is without wing3. Molting takes place five different times during the 

 nymphal stage and after each molt the wings become more prominent. After the fifth 

 molt the insect appears as a fully developed adult. 



Like the Acrididae they are voracious eaters and where they appear in large num- 

 ers must necessarily do considerable damage. However, this does not occur in our 

 province. 



According to Scudder there are nearly 200 species of this family present in Ameri- 

 ca. The family is divided into fifteen sub-families of which three are represented in 

 Nova Scotia. These contain three genera and six species. The following key will aid 

 in separating the sub-families. 



KEY TO SUB-FAMILIES OF LOCUSTIDAE KNOWN TO OCCUR IN NOVA 



SCOTIA. 



A. Wings and tegmina present. 



B. Tegmina narrow, not wider than length of pronotum. Pros- 

 ternal spines present. Verex terminating in a rounded tuber- 

 cle. Ovipositor straight or but slightly upturned. . . . .Conocephalinae. 

 BB. Tegmina leaf-like, broader than length of pronotum 

 and always shorter than the wings. Prosternal spines 

 absent. Vertex rounded, without spine.cone or tubercle. 



Hind tibia with apical spine on each side Phaneropterinae. 



AA. Wings absent. Ovipositor straight or slightly upturned. Distal 



end of inner plates with five or six teeth on lower edge. . . Stenopelmatinae. 



