Neotridactylus apicalis (Larger Pygmy 
Locust/Pygmy Mole-cricket): A New 
Orthoptera Species for the Ottawa 
District 
Eric Snyder 
Introduction 
From late June until early October of 2005, 1 observed locusts of the species 
Neotridactylus apicalis in an abandoned sand pit on the campus of Kemptville 
College, in Kemptville Ontario. 1 collected three voucher specimens in September, 
and nature photographer, Bev Wigney, took several photographs. The first specimen 
was collected on 18 September: an immature locust, approximately 5 mm in length. 
On 21 September, Bev Wigney photographed an adult, approximately 10 mm in 
length, which I subsequently collected. Photographs were taken of another 
immature locust on 24 September. On the same day I collected a very desiccated, 
dead adult. Photographs can be viewed online at 
http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/neotridactylus. The specimens were deposited in 
the Canadian National Collection at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa. 
This is the first record of Neotridactylus apicalis for the Ottawa District within 
Ontario. According to Dr. Henri Goulet, entomologist at the Experimental Farm, it 
is one of only two records from the Ottawa District. The species has also been 
found by Benoit Menard and Raymond Hutchinson approximately 75 km to the 
north-northwest, on the north shore of the Ottawa River at Quyon, Quebec. 
Habitat at Kemptville College 
Vickery and Kevan (1985) write that the species “occurs mainly on damp sand bars 
or in sandy or silty areas with sparse vegetation near water, including the edges of 
ditches.”' This is consistent with the observations made in Kemptville, except 
perhaps that surface water at the sand pit is for the most part seasonal. However, 
although surface water is not always present, the water table is relatively close to the 
1 It is thought that Neotridactylus apicalis ingests sand particles and digests the 
microscopic algae on the surface of such particles (Vickery and Kevan 1985). 
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