VISUAL AND ACOUSTICAL SOCIAL DISPLAYS 
BY THE GRASSHOPPER ARPHIA CONSPERSA 
(ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIDAE) 1 - 2 
By Robert B. Willey and Ruth L. Willey 3 
Many species of the Oedipodinae (band-wing grasshoppers) exhibit 
strikingly diverse social interactions invoking visual and acoustical 
communication between the sexes and between individuals of the 
same sex (Otte, 1968, 1969). 
The present paper is an account of the communication system of 
Arphia conspersa and will serve as an introduction to quantitative 
and experimental analyses of specific aspects of the behavior of this 
and other species. 
LIFE HISTORY 
Arphia conspersa is widespread throughout the western Great 
Plains from northern Mexico to the southern provinces of Canada 
and is found up to 11,000 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains 
of southern Colorado where this study was made. We have found 
that these populations 'typically overwinter as nymphs and the eggs 
usually need a cold period to break diapause, implying a two-year 
life cycle. In the mountain areas near Gunnison, Colorado, adults 
have emerged consistently (1962-1968) four to five weeks after the 
snow has melted (June to July). The peak of abundance occurs 
about two weeks after the first observed emergence and the popu- 
lation dies out about three weeks later in most localities (Willey and 
Willey, 1967). In the vicinity of Boulder, however, a few adults 
may be found at all months of the year, even in open areas during 
warm days of the winter (Halliburton & Alexander, 1964). 
At higher elevations such as at Gothic (9,500 feet, Gunnison Co.) 
and Black Mesa (9,700 feet, Montrose-Gunnison Cos.) adults pass 
through most of their life without coming into contact with adults 
Research conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested 
Butte, Colorado; The University of Illinois at Chicago Circle; National 
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado; and Ripon College, 
Wisconsin. 
This study was supported in part by grant GB-2201 from the National 
Science Foundation, three grants from the Graduate Research Board of the 
University of Illinois, and Sigma Xi-RESA Grants-in-Aid of Research for 
the summers of 1963 and 1968. 
3 Address of the co-authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Univer- 
sity of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Box 4348, Chicago, Illinois 60680. 
280 
