Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Acrididae Members:	NC Records
Melanoplus confusus Scudder, 1897 - Pasture Grasshopper

Male

Taxonomy

Family: Acrididae	Subfamily: Melanoplinae	Tribe: Melanoplini
Comments: Melanoplus is our largest genus of Orthopterans, with over 350 species occurring in North America (Cigliano et al., 2017). 38 species have been recorded in North Carolina.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF

Technical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Blatchley (1920)

Comments: A fairly small, brownish-yellow, long-winged Melanoplus. The typical dark stripes on the upper sides of the pronotum are the most conspicuous marks. The hind tibiae are typically pale blue but can also be reddish or yellowish.

Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 16-18 mm, males; 19-24 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)

Structural Features: Male cerci are boot-shaped: broad at the base with a ventral "heel" and a rounded, somewhat concave, and twisted "toe" at the apex. Melanoplus keeleri has somewhat similar cerci, but the heel has a more acute angle and the apex is not as flattened or twisted; the subgenital plate is also less elevated than in keeleri and has a smaller, narrower apex.

Structural photos

Distribution in North Carolina


County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Adult Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats:

Diet:

Observation Methods:

Abundance/Frequency:

Adult Phenology:

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SH

State Protection:

Comments:

Image Gallery for Melanoplus confusus - Pasture Grasshopper
	Recorded by: B.B. Fulton McDowell Co. Comment: NCSU Insect Museum specimen	Recorded by: B.B. Fulton Alleghany Co. Comment: NCSU Insect Museum specimen
	Recorded by: B.B. Fulton Alleghany Co. Comment:

Melanoplus confusus Scudder, 1897 - Pasture Grasshopper

Image Gallery for Melanoplus confusus - Pasture Grasshopper