4 j Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



Labrador, Hudson Bay and Alaska. The specimens described by Scudder in 

 his "Revision of the Melanopli" came from the Esquimaux village of Ramah, on 

 the coast of Labrador, lat. 57 N., while the Alaska specimens recorded by 

 Caudell (Pap. Harriman Alaska Exp., Proc. Wash. Acad. Sc., vol. II, pp. 511- 

 512, 1900) were taken at Kukak Bay, Alaska Peninsula. 



I have a large series of this species from Nain (lat. 56 30") and Hopedale 

 (lat. 55 24"), Coast of Labrador, an examination of which convinced me 

 that they are not specifically distinct from M. extremus Walk., a species also 

 recorded from Labrador and Arctic America, which was placed by Scudder in a 

 different section of the genus. On submitting this question to Mr. Hebard, I 

 learned that he had already placed M. extremus as a race of borealis in his unpub-. 

 lished notes on this group, and Messrs. Morse and Blatchley are also of the 

 opinion that the two forms are conspecific. This being the case, M. borealis, 

 as a species, is by no means exclusively arctic, but ranges over nearly the whole 

 of Canada and extends also into various parts of the northern United States. 

 It is, however, a typically boreal form and probably reaches its highest develop- 

 ment in the Hudsonian zone. 



Melanoplus fasciatus is a species of similar range and has also been recorded 

 from Nain, Labrador, so that it may be fairly included in the arctic fauna. 



Several other species of Acrididae have been reported from "Arctic America" 

 chiefly by F. Walker (Cat. Derm. Salt. Brit. Mus., III-IV, 1869-71), but in the 

 absence of definite localities it is uncertain whether they were taken in the 

 Arctic zone proper or the Hudsonian. These are Acrydium granulatum Kirby, 

 Chorthippus curtipennis (Harr.), Hippiscus apiculatus (Harr.) and Melanoplus 

 femur-rubrum (DeGeer). The type locality of A. granulatum is in lat. 65, and 

 it was taken by Adam White (Richardson, Arctic Search. Exp., II, p. 360, 1851) 

 at Fort Simpson (lat. 61 30') and at the junction of the Mackenzie and Slave 

 rivers, so that it cannot be certainly regarded as arctic on the basis of these 

 records. The other records are indefinite and that of M. femur-rubrum almost 

 certainly erroneous, the species referred to being probably M. borealis. 



A few other Orthoptera may be mentioned as very possibly ranging into 

 the arctic regions. Melanoplus kennicottii Scudd. and M. atlanis (Riley) 

 were taken by Kennicott on the Yukon river, Alaska. The former has also 

 been recorded from Saskatchewan, Alberta and Montana, while the latter is 

 widely distributed over the greater part of North America, extending into 

 Mexico. 



Melanoplus bruneri Scudd. (M. alaskanus Scudd.) is also recorded from 

 Alaska and is widely distributed in Canada in the Boreal region. 



A crydiumbrunneriBoliver (which is perhaps the true A. granulatum (Kirby), 

 and Melanoplus bivittatus Say are recorded from the Hudson bay region, while 

 Circotettix verruculatus (Kirby) ranges far north, the type specimen having come 

 from lat. 57 N. 



All the species mentioned above are locusts or "short-horned grasshoppers" 

 (Acrididae), but there is one species of "long-horned grasshopper" (Tettigoni- 

 idaej, which has some claim to membership in the Arctic Fauna. This is Idiono- 

 tus sphatjnornm (Walk.) (syn. 7. brevipes 1 Caud., Platycleis fletcheri Caud.), 

 which was originally described from St. Martin's Falls, Hudson Bay. It was 

 redescribed l.y Caudell (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, p. 396, 1907) as Idionotus 

 brevipes from a single male, taken by Kennicott in "Arctic America" (Caudell, 

 I.e.). This same specimen h-id already been mentioned but not described by 

 Scudder (Can. Knt., XXVI, p. 182, 1894) in his characterization of the genus 

 Idionotus, and is stated to h:ive been "collected by Kennicott somewhere on his 

 explorations in or going to Alaska." This species is now known also from 

 northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta. 



l l am indebted to Mr. W. S. Blatchley for the synonymy of Idionotus brevipes Caud. with T Z)ech'cws 

 sphagnorum Walk. I had long suspected this to be the case, as we have only one northern Decticine, as 

 far as known. 



