276 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. VOL.XX. 



laminae, the apical half generally about half as broad as the base, 

 arcuate and with the upper inner portion of the tip produced. The 

 subgenital plate is peculiar for being very broad at base and narrowing 

 so as to be at apex only about half as broad as at base (which does not 

 show in the figures), the whole lower margin nearly straight while the 

 upper is sinuous, the apical margin not elevated, entire (in one species 

 very broadly and shallowly emarginate, or rather laterally tuberculate) 

 and, as viewed above, broadly rounded. 



The species, five in number, are spread all over the continent from 

 Atlantic to Pacific, from central Labrador to central Florida, and from 

 central Alaska, the Mackenzie Kiver and Hudson Bay to Texas and 

 central Mexico; they also extend to high altitudes above the forest line. 

 No other series of Melanoplus has quite so wide an area of distribution, 

 the bivittatus- series, however, approaching it closely. 



81. MELANOPLUS PLUMBEUS. 

 (Plate XVIII, fig. 8.) 



Caloptenus plumbum DODGE!, Can. Ent., IX (1877), p. 112. THOMAS, Rep. U. S. 



Ent. Comm., I (1878), p. 42. BRUNER, ibid., Ill (1883), p. 60. 

 Melanoplus plumbeus BRUNER, Bull. Div. Ent. U. S. Dep. Agric., XVIII (1893), 



pp. 32-33, fig. 16; Publ. Nebr. Acad. So., Ill (1893), p. 28. 



Of medium size, very dark fusco- olivaceous, with bright luteous or 

 flavous markings. Head feebly prominent, mostly luteous or flavous, 

 more or less infusca>ted above and especially clouded or flecked with 

 fuscous along the lateral margins of the fastigium and posterior to 

 them, and with a blackish postocular band; vertex somewhat tumid, 

 the interspace between the eyes nearly (male) or more than (female) 

 half as broad again as the first anteunal joint; fastigium steeply decliv- 

 ent, feebly expanding anteriorly, shallowly sulcate throughout; frontal 

 costa somewhat prominent above, slightly contracted between the 

 antennae, otherwise subequal and as wide as the interspace between 

 the eyes, hardly reaching the clypeus, feebly sulcate at and below the 

 ocellus, biseriately punctate throughout; eyes moderately large, not 

 very prominent, distinctly longer, especially in the female, than the 

 infraocular portion of the geuae; antennae more or less ferruginous, 

 apically infuscated, less than three- fourths (male) or hardly more than 

 one-half (female) as long as the hind femora. Pronotum subequal, very 

 feebly and uniformly expanding posteriorly, especially in the female, 

 the disk dark fusco-olivaceous, with a slender, median, flavous stripe 

 and more or less distinct lateral stripes of the same upon the carinae, 

 expanding upon the metazona, the lateral lobes mostly flavous (some- 

 times obscured with fuscous), the prozona marked above with a broad 

 piceous band; disk nearly plane, passing by abruptly rounded shoul- 

 ders, hardly forming true carinae, into the vertical lateral lobes ; median 

 carina distinct but slight throughout, hardly less elevated on the pro- 

 zona; front margin truncate, hind margin obtusangulate; prozoua 



