Orthoptera of North Carolina
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View Acrididae Members: NC Records

Melanoplus eurycercus Hebard, 1920 - A Green-legged Melanoplus

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Taxonomy
Family: Acrididae Subfamily: Melanoplinae Tribe: MelanopliniSynonym: Melanoplus viridipes eurycercus
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. Melanoplus eurycercus is a member of the Viridpes Species Group (Otte, 2002), which in North Carolina also includes acrophilus, pachycercus, cherokee, deceptus, hubbelli, and similis.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: OSF, Google Images,  iNaturalist, GBIFTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Hebard (1934); Otte (2002)                                                                                  
Comments: A small, contrastingly patterned, green-legged Melanoplus. Males are similar to other strongly-marked species in this group, including acrophilus, pachycercus, cherokee, and deceptus, all of which are grayish dorsally, shining black along the post-ocular line, thorax, and abdomen, and white on the face and lower sides of the pronotum. The fore and middle legs are bright green but the hind femur is white, banded with two black bands that are connected along the lower middle face. The abdominal segments are also contrastingly marked with black and white patches. These species are best distinguished based on structural features.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 17-21 mm, males (to end of femur); 22-26 mm, females (Otte, 2002)
Structural Features: Furculae are distinct but small. The cerci are somewhat tapering, with the middle portion wider, sometimes slightly, than the terminal area, which is flattened or slightly concave; the base is often marked with white. Tegmina are about the same length as the pronotum, or slightly longer, but usually do no reach the middle of the abdomen (Otte, 2002). The internal reproductive structures are diagnostic (see Hebard, 1934, and Otte, 2002, for descriptions and illustrations).
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)

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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Morgan (1920) describes this species as inhabiting mountain meadows near forests. Otte (2002) adds woods margins and openings in woods.
Diet: Apparently unrecorded
Observation Methods: Probably best found by flushing it by walking through its habitat
Abundance/Frequency: Hebard (1920) described eurycercus as forming localized colonies
Adult Phenology: Adults emerge as early as May but can persist as late as July and August
See also Habitat Account for Montane Forblands and Successional Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: SR
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 S1S2
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species reaches the southern end of its range in the North Carolina Mountains (Otte, 2002), where specimens were first collected in 1929 in the vicinity of Bakersville by D.A. Greene (Hebard, 1934; Otte, 2002). Specimens collected by Corey et al. in 2014 indicate that populations still exist in North Carolina. However, it remains one of our most poorly known species.