Orthoptera of North Carolina
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View Acrididae Members: NC Records

Melanoplus strumosus Morse, 1904 - Swollen Spur-throat Grasshopper

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. Included by Blatchley (1920) in the Puer Species Group, of which only strumosus and mirus have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images,  iNaturalist, GBIFTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Blatchley (1920)                                                                                  
Comments: A small, reddish-brown, short-winged Melanoplus. The dorsal surface of the head and pronotum are reddish brown. In males, the lateral piceous-black stripe runs from just behind the eye, across the upper margin of the lateral field of the pronotum, and down the sides of the metanotum; the abdomen is also black. In females, the lateral stripe may be indistinct (Blatchley, 1920). The hind femur is typically unmarked, although Blatchley states that it may be very faintly bifasciate with fuscous. The posterior face of the femur is reddish but the hind tibia is glaucous with black spines.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 15-17 mm, males; 17.5-26 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)
Structural Features: The tegmina are very short, only two-thirds as long as the pronotum. They are obovate and slightly touching or separated (Blatchley, 1920). The cerci in the males are slender, tapering, with the tip bent upward and slightly expanded with an upper rounded angle and a lower acute angle (see Blatchley for details).
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: This species appears to be found only in frequently burned sandridges in the Coastal Plain, where its color pattern blends in well with scorched vegetation and longleaf pine needles.
Diet:
Observation Methods: Can be flushed by walking through its habitat
Abundance/Frequency: Usually seen only in small numbers
Adult Phenology: Adults emerge in early summer and persist until late fall. Three peaks in abundance can be observed in our pheological charts, which may indicate that several broods emerge during the course of the year. This could be due to egg diapause, which may be an important adaptation for coping with frequent fire.
See also Habitat Account for Coastal Plain Dry-Mesic Woodlands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W3
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4G5 S3S4
State Protection:
Comments: This species appears to be a specialist on frequently burned longleaf pine-dominated habitats in the Coastal Plain. Its range appears to be limited but it can usually be found where suitable habitat exists.

Image Gallery for Melanoplus strumosus - Swollen Spur-throat Grasshopper

Recorded by: Ken Kneidel
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel
Scotland Co.
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Recorded by: Stephen Hall
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: E. Corey, J. Vann
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Hall
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Hall
Moore Co.
Comment: