Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Acrididae Members:	NC Records
Melanoplus punctulatus (Uhler, 1862) - Grizzly Locust

Adult male, gray-brown form

Adult male, pale form

Nymph, pale form

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.
Species Status: Described by Scudder (1862) based on a single specimen contributed by P.R. Uhler and with the name attributed to him. More complete descriptions are given by Beuntenmueller (1894) and Blatchley (1920). Three subspecies have been described (see Cigliano et al., 2017), two of which have been reported in North Carolina by Rehn and Hebard (1916), M. p. punctulatus and M. p. arboreus. These two forms appear to be indistinguishable based on coloration and other features visible in photographs and unless specimens have been inspected and clearly belong to one or the other of the subspecies, records are assigned to the full species.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Capinera et al. (2004)	Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF	Technical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Blatchley (1920)
Comments: A medium-large grasshopper, one of the larger species in this genus. The typical form is gray-brown, with the body, legs, and tegmina covered with speckling or spotting, giving it a "grizzled" appearance. The hind femur has a distinctive crimson shade on the inner face and the upper and outer faces have two dark bands. The hind tibiae are reddish or sometimes a dark reddish-brown (Beutenmueler, 1894; Blatchley, 1920). In addition to the gray-brown form, yellowish, greenish, and paler gray forms occur (BugGuide, 2017). Additionally, at least some North Carolina specimens have a pale whitish ground color with spots and other markings that are contrastingly black rather than brown. This form does not appear to be described anywhere in the literature, including any of the three described subspecies. Whether this form differs in any other structural features from the typical form is unknown, as are any possible habitat or distributional differences.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 19 - 30 mm, males; 27 - 44 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920; combining both subspecies)
Structural Features: The antennae of the males are exceptionally long (Beutenmueller, 1894), equal to or longer than the hind femur (Blatchley, 1920). The furculae of the males are scarcely evident but the cerci are large and somewhat boot-shaped: narrow at the base and broadly expanded apically (Blatchley, 1920). See illustrations in Blatchley and Capineira et al. (2004).

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: Arboreal. Some authors have reported a particular association with pines, but others have found it in hardwoods as well. North Carolina records come from sandhill stands of mixed Longleaf and xerophytic oaks as well as wooded residential neighborhoods in the Piedmont.

Diet: Unrecorded. An observation in Wake County by Karen Blum indicates that it may feed on mosses and lichens.

Observation Methods: Seen near the ground following cold nights in the fall

Abundance/Frequency: Seen irregularly in the fall when it comes down out of the trees

Adult Phenology: Sightings of adults appear to increase in the fall, possibly the result of being forced down out of the trees by the weather or loss of food

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 [S4S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands

Comments: Although observed somewhat irregularly, this species is probably common throughout the state and occupies a wide range of wooded habitats. Consequently, it appears to be secure in the state.

Image Gallery for Melanoplus punctulatus - Grizzly Locust
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: A. Kauppila Burke Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment:	Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales Cumberland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Avery Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Avery Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Avery Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Holly Weston Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Karen Blum Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J.Williams Vance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment:	Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Kyle Kittelberger Wake Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J.Williams Vance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J.Williams Vance Co. Comment:	Recorded by: ASH Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: ASH Moore Co. Comment:	Recorded by: ASH Moore Co. Comment:

Melanoplus punctulatus (Uhler, 1862) - Grizzly Locust

Image Gallery for Melanoplus punctulatus - Grizzly Locust