Cambridge Entomological Club, 1874
PSYCHE

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Article beginning on page 431.
Psyche 5:431-441, 1888.

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November-December tQo:] PSYCHE. 43 1
as transverse bars at right angles to the cos- tal margin. Near the base of this wing be- low the cell there is a dark fuliginous mark. The spots upon the secondaries are crowded together toward the base and again toward the outer margin, leaving a clear discal band of the ground color visible. Three small round spots near the base and a quadrate bar in the outer series are conspicuous because showing no silvery pupillation and being darker in color than the rest. Anal lobe black. Palpi, legs and body concolorous~ Expanse 27 mm.
Type 8 in collection of the author.
26. A, ARGYROCYCLUS, sp. nov.
9. Allied to A. orcas, Drury, but differing widely in important particulars from the fe- male of that species.
Upperside :-The prevalent color is dark
greenish brown glossing with blue in certain lights.
There is a. large white spot at the
end of the cell of the primaries followed by a subapical series of very small and obscure spots. Underside :-The ground color is
dark orange fading upon the inner margin of the primaries into pale testaceous. The fringes are black checked with white at the tips of the nervures. The anal lobeis black, The silvery spots adorning the wings are relatively large and ringed with dark maroon. Instead of the one long spot which stands upon the primaries of A. oreas the fourth from the base, there are in A. ar~7rocycZus three spots grouped triangularly. Instead of the nine silver spots which appear upon the secondaries of A. orcas there are in A. argyrocyclws sixteen spots and all lying within the submarginal band of dark maroon which in both species appears upon the sec- ondaries.
Expanse of wings 40 mm.
Type in collection of author.
Pittsburgh Pa., 10 Nov. 1890.
SOME GENERA OF OEDIPODIDAE RESCUED FROM THE TRYXALIDAE.
BY SAMUEL HUBBARD SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. In his Prodromus Oedipodiorum,
Saussure constructs a table for the sep- aration of the genera of this family, in which, when he has reached the "stirps
Oedipoda," afterwards, termed by him
Oedipodites. he first separates from the remainder of the stirps the new genus
Daemoma, an extraordinary form from
Peru, known to him apparently only by
a single imperfect and immature speci-
men in Brunner's collection. This gen-
us he found to differ from all others in the forward extension of the vertex,
LLfaciem adumbrans," the stout form of
the hind femora with slight carinae, the great length of the hind tarsi which are nearly two thirds as long as the hind
tibiae, and the peculiar concave struc-
ture of the dorsal surface of the prono- turn.
In a recent study of some American
species of acridiodea I have been great- ly puzzled by a number of forms
which seemed to lie on the border land
between the oedi$odidae and the tryx-
alidae. One by one they have been
removed in my collection from one
family and the other without finding a




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PSYCHE.
[November-December 1890.
resting place, until their comparative
examination, after a general survey had
been completed, showed me that they
possessed features in common which
warranted their being grouped together
and placed as a whole in the oedlpodi-
dae, although several of them present
marked Tryxaline features. I had con-
cluded to regard them as a distinct
subfamily of oedipodidae, when I
dicovered that one of them, the
genus Hif-pucris, described by me
many years ago* from Peru as an excep-
tional form of tryxalidae, was very
closely related indeed to Saussure's
Daemonea, so much so that the latter
genus also would have to be placed in
the same category ; this separate treat- merit, but under the name of a stirps, I believe Daemonea and Hi'pacris would
have received at Saussure's bands, had
he possessed a specimen of the latter ;
and to this assemblage of forms I pro-
pose to give the subfamily name of
ACROLOPHITINAE.
The distinguishing characteristic of the members of this group among oedipodidae is that the front and vertex conspire to form an advancingprocess, sometimes also ascending, in the upper front of the head, much as in Col$olopha among ac~ididae, and in many
$hy?na/idae, and of course reminding us of tryxalidae; but in such other characteristics of structure as would be regarded as more commonly found in the tryxalidae than in the oedipodidae, they almost invariably in- cline to the latter group ; and where any one of them shows a Tryxaline feature (besides the fronto-vertical processfin any marked *Proc. Bost. soc. nat. hist., 1875, v. 17, p. 267. degree, it is almost sure to be offset by some other more striking Oedipodine features and often by a combination of -several As a
general rule, the face is almost perpendicular below the fronto-vertical process, which with the process causes the upper portion to be more or less concave. The eyes, except in Peyuvia and especially in Gymnes. are re- markably small. generally very much shorter than the infraocular portion of the genae ; the antennae are linear or faintly ensifbi-m and usually depressed on the basal -iointfe; the metazona is always somewhat though rarely much longer than the prozona, with the pos- terior process subrectangulate or broadly rounded, generally with a slight median car- ina running through the whole pronotum,
but crested on the metazona in AcroIo///itus, and almost absolutely absent in the genera at the other end of the series; the prozona traversed by a pair of faintly incised continu- ous transverse sulci, the hinder never con- fused with the typical sulcus separating the prozona and metazona ; lateral
lobes of the
pronoturn with the anterior and posterior margins parallel or subparallel, except in Hifpacris (and D(fenzonea?) ; the niediasti- nal and scapular areas in the basal half of the tegmina more or less, sometimes very, irreg- ularly reticulate, never with simple trans- verse parallel veins; the vena intercalata generally obscure, sometimes wanting, the vena axillaris sometimes free, sometimes im- pinging on the anal vein; inetasternal lobes , distant (except in Perzmia).
There is no doubt that H/'/acris
and Daemonea are widely separated
from the others and that fully to justify their collocation in this manner inter-
mediate types should be found ; these
are to be sought in the western tropics
of America. It should not, however,
be overlooked that in the form of the
lateral lobes of the pronotum Hippacri




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and Daemonea are far more Tryxaline
than any of the others, for the posterior margin rapidly retreats from the very
tip, so that the lobe narrows perspicu-
ously. The features in which these two
genera stand apart from the others will
be seen in the following table of the
genera of this group, in which I have
placed all known to me.
TABLE OF THE GENERA OF ACROLOPHITINAE.
Body slender; vertex horizontal or ascend- ing at apex, the tip bluntly pointed ; frontal costa extending to clypens ; metazona above transversely convex or tectiform or plane with a median carina. never concave ; lower posterior angle of lateral lobes of prothorax subrectangulate ; hind legs relatively long ; hind femora slender, elongate and com-
pressed; hind tibiae with more than eight spines in the outer row; hind tarsi less than ha1 t' as long as hind tibiae.
Head as viewed laterally with distinctly ascending vertex ; face below fron to-ver- tical process subperpendicular ; metazona distinctly elevated above the prozona,
tumid or crested; antennae more than
half as long as the tegmina.
Metazona much longer than prozona,
with an elevated crest. AcroZo$////z~s.
Metazona barely longer than pro-
zona, tumid, but with only a slight
carina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acrocara. Head as viewed laterally with vertex
scarcely or not ascending ; face below
fronto-vertical process distinctly though not greatly declivent ; nietazona hardly or not elevated above the prozona, rarely tumid, never more than gently carinate;
antennae less than half as long as the
tegmina.
Antennae much longer than the
face ; lower margin of lateral lobes of
Antennae entirely filiform ; dor-
sum of metazona raised at an
exceedingly small angle with
that of the prozona; anterior
margin of teginina shouldered
but not distinctly lobed near the
base; last hind tarsal joint liard-
ly more than half as long as the
other two together.
Pedioscirtetes.
Antennae with the joints of the
basal third depressed and slight-
ly broader than beyond ; dorsuin
of prozona and metazona in
same plane; anterior margin of
tegmina distinctly lobed near the
base; last hind tarsal joint (at
least in Machaerocera) longer
than the other two joints to-
gether.
Fastigium of vertex longi-
tudinally sulcate with no
median carina ; median car-
ina of pronotum subobsolete
between the sulci of the pro-
zona ; posterior margin of
lateral lobes not produced
posteriorly at its extremity;
axillai-y vein of tegmina free ;
ulnar vein normal.
Machaerocera.
Fastigium of vertex
transversely tumid with
a distinct median carina in
addition; median carina of
pronotum equally distinct
throughout ; posterior mar-
gin of lateral lobes produced
posteriorly at the extremity
into a slight rounded lobe;
axillary vein of tegmina im-
pinging on
the anal at the
end of the basal third of the
wing ; ulnar vein approach-
ing the median. . . Peyuvia.
prothorax anteriorly excised, broad-
Antennae shorter than the face ; lower
ly exposing the pleural plate.
' margin of lateral lobes of prothorax




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434 ~~~~~~. [November-December 1890.
nearly horizontal throughout, scarcely
permitting the pleural plate to be seen. Gymnes.
Body very stout; vertex slightly descending at apex, the tip truncate ; frontal costa not extending over the lower half of the face; inetazona above transversely concave ; lower posterior angle of lateral lobes of prothorax decidedly obtusangu-late; hind legs relatively short; hind femora short and stout; hind tibiae with not more than eight spines in the outer row; hind tarsi more than half as long as hind tibiae.
Vertex gently convex between the eyes ;
transverse sulci of pronotum faintly
traced except at the lateral canthi and
there not deep. each subordinate lobe at this point armed with a rounded tuber-
cle.. ....................... Hippacyis. Vertex transversely sulcate between the
eyes; transverse sulci of the pronotum
distinct, cutting deeply through the sharp lateral canthi.. .............. Daemonea. From one of the early explorations
next the eastern ba3e of the Rocky Moun- tains under Major Long, Say was able
to bring home many curious insects
which for a long time were known only
by his descriptions.
One of these was
his Grylhis hirtijes taken ^on the
banks of the Arkansaw River,
about a
hundred and fifty miles from the moun-
tains." This striking- and beautifully
marked insect is still a rarity, and was not mentioned from the time of Say's
description in 1825 until 1871 when
Thomas in one of Hayden's Reports es-
tablished for it the genus Acrolophihs,
but left us at a loss as to its position, as he placed it with Tornonotus Sauss., an
Oedipodid, between Stauronotus and
Stenobothrus, the last two being well
known tryxalidae ; two years later how-
ever, in his Synopsis of the Acrididae
he plainly refers it to a bLsection" con- taining only tryxalidae. No one has
since disturbed it. It can hardly have , been known to Saussure. the latest mon-
ographer of the oedijodidae.
As stated above however it is plainly
one of the oedipodidae, for although
the vertex is ascending and prominent,
forming a distinct frontal process which makes it present a very curious aspect
among oedipodidae, while the vena
intercalata of the tegmina is feeble and irregular or wanting, yet its other char- acteristics are all of another kind. The front is subperpendicular, except for
the slightly projecting process above ;
the eyes are very small and not more
than half as long as the infraocular por- tion of the genae ; the antennae are
linear; the pronotum is crested (but
on the metazona only), the metazona
much longer than the prozona, rectan-
gulate behind; the transverse sulci of
the prozona are continuous and inter-
sect the slight median carina ; the an-
tenor and posterior margins of the lat-
eral lobes are subparallel ; the basal half of the marginal area of the tegmina is
irregularly and rather densely reticulate ; the anal and axillary veins are indepen- dent ; and the lobes of the inetasternum are rather widely distant. Except for
the fronto-vertical process the aspect is wholly Oedipodine. The structural
features mentioned by Thomas being
an insufficient characterization of this curious genus, the following description may here find a place.




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. PSYCHE. November-December 1890.1 435
ACROLOPHITUS Thomas.
Body moderately slender. Head moder-
ately large, slightly enlarging below, giving greater effect to the subconical ascending and advancing process, which is nearly as long as the eye and is formed of the exten- sion of the front and vertex ; the latter atten- uate in front, forming slightly less than a right angle with the upper part of the frontal costa, the angle minutely rounded ; frontal costa slender, the sides faintly converging from below upward, above the median ocel- Ius more rapidly convergent and at extreme summit pinched to a lamina, below it sulcate, the lateral carinae of the face conspicuous throughout ; fastigia obsolescent but not con- founded with the vertex, their position at the convex base of the lateral ridge of the frontal process being clear but not sharply defined, the fastigia being in no way de- pressed, not visible from above. Lateral ocelli far removed from the margin of the vertex,close to the eyes. Eyes small, feebly prominent, not more than half as long as the infraocular portion of the genae. Anten- nae half as long again as head and prothorax together, nearly as long as the hind femora, rather coarse, the first joint nearly twice as long as broad, but little stouter than the suc- ceeding, the joints of the apical half or more punctate.
Prothorax with the prozona quadrate with parallel sides, the dorsum depressed but transversely and gently arched, the metazona tapering slightly forward, the dorsum tecti- form and strongly crested, -this with the elevated head giving it a strong selliform aspect; prozona with the median carina very obscure, distinctly intersected not only by the typical sulcus (which is thrust forward by the metazonal crest) but also by two addi- tional sulci, between which the carina is en- tirely obliterated; metazona strongly and roundly crested, the hind margin rectangu- late, the lateral carinae distinctly intersected by the typical sulcus, which extends normal- ly into the lateral lobes ; these have the pos- terior angle rectangulate, the lower margin obtusely angular, its hinder portion hori- zontal, its anterior obliquely ascending-; * metasternal lobes in $ nearly, in $ fully, as far apart as the mesosternal, both quadrate or transversely quadrate. Tegmina almost uniformly coriaceous throughout but feebly membranaceous apically, moderately slender, rather densely reticulate, supplied normally with spurious veins, the vena intercalata vague or lacking, the vena media and vena discoidalis both furcate, the vena axillaris independent. Radiate veins of anal field of wings normal, not incrassate. Hind femora slender, longer than the abdomen; spurs of hind tibiae strong, curved, arcuate, of con- siderable length but the inner scarcely two thirds as long as the first joint of the tarsi, which are of normal length.
These characteristics, apart from the
pointed head, seem to show the nearest
relation to Leptoternis, Conipoda and
allied genera of the Old World ; but
AcroZo/hi/us is still far removed from
them, and though not so extraordinary
a form as Saussure's Daemonea from
South America, certainly shows many
features which recall that strange type, and forms one link in a series connecting the typical oedi-podinae therewith.
I know of but one species of the gen-
us, A. hirtifes, first found by Say oh
the upper Arkansas and since reported
from near Cafion City, Colorado, and
Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming (Thom-
as), and southern Colorado (Carpenter),
and taken in Colorado 5ooo/ (Morri-
son), between Lakin, Western Kansas,
and Pueblo, Col., July 8-9, 1877(Scud- . der), at Pueblo, CO~., July 8-9 and
August 30-3 I, 1877 (Scudder) , Meri-
dian Creek, Tex., June 6, "very rare,
found among bushes" (Belfrage) , and




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436 ps2X'K!T. [November-December 1890
Pecos River, Tex. (Capt. Pope).
Mr.
P. R. Uhler has also given me speci-
mens from Kansas and Texas. It seems
to have been oftenest taken near its first known locality, on the upper Arkansas,
east of the mountains.
The next genus mentioned in the
table is closely allied to the preceding, but departs in a greater degree from the Oedipodine type. Except for lacking
a metazonal crest on the pronotum, it
bears indeed a striking resemblance to
Acrolo/hi/us, a resemblance which is
most marked in the strange form of the
head in both. The points, however, in
which it further departs from the nor-
mal Oedipodine type are not many and
may be summed up as follows : The
prozona and metazona are of equal
length, the latter obtusely and roundly
angulate behind, the angulation scarcely perceptible ; the basal third 01- fourth of the marginal area of the tegmina is
reticulate indeed, but the reticulation is sometimes mostly made up of crowded
transverse veinlets interlinked by inos- culating longitudinal v"eins ; and the
axillary vein unites with the anal by the end of the basal fourth of the wing,
much as in Tropidolofhus. It does
not appear to have been described, and
may be characterized as follows.
ACROCARA (LKPOS, &a) gen. nov.
Body slender, subfusiforin. Head of the


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