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Psyche 7:443-445, 1894.

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Psyche, Vol. 7, 1896.
- - . -. . . .. . . .
!
Plate 10.
T. å´Ì r.
I
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--
I
FOLSOM - SMY NTHURI.




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PSYCHE.
NOTES ON THE ACRIDIDAE OF NEW ENGLAND.- 11.- TRYX- AL1NAE.- VII.
BY ALBERT P. MORSE. WELLESLEY. MASS.
10. JMEC~STETITUS Ficb.
Mecosteths Fieber IS 53.
Syn. il.
cur. Orlli., p. 10.
, I . his g;enusSis sharply ilistingiiishcd from the other New England Tryxali-
iae by the structure of the tegmina
which possess a highly-developed in-
tercaliiry vein. In this p:irticular it is closely allied to the Oedipodinae. This
vein in the male is provided with a
rasp for stridiiliiti~~~, ii structure found in some Oedipoilinae iiiso. The pro-
II~~LIIII also is somewhat Oeilipodine in character, having; the melazona longer
than tlie prozon;i ; and the meeting of
the face and vertex is rounded in the
female. Referred at first to Arcyptera
and later to Stethophyrn:~ (incorrectly
Stetheophyina,- see Erunner, Prod.
eur. Orth., p. 139), our species be-
long to this genus and one of them
is very similar to the European one
t'orn~ing the type. Our three species
were described by Scudder iincl have
been thought by some authors to be
but varieties of one, but they are un-
tloubledly clisti rict.
I . Mecostethus lineatus Scudil.
Arcyptera lincata. Sc~iclder, 462.-
1862.
Stetheoj4~ Zineata. Thomas,
08. Ferniild, 3s.
Stethophytza Uneata. Morse, 105.
r 1
J-his species is very similar to M.
possus of Europe. It is the most com-
mon one in tlie southern part of New
England \vhile zra-cillis is probably
more often met with in the northern
States. In iiddition to the charxters
given in the key the present species
differs from the others in having' the
tegmina much longer and narrower
proportionally and their dorsal (anal)
portion is more nearly of the same tint
as the rest. The teeth of the rasp are
very low md 'lull. In coloration tlie
females are very much darker than
those offrrac//is, being of a deep pur-
ple brown. (See also remarks under
other species.)
About zoo specimens show the fol-
Io\~irig measurements:




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The abdomen of the J1 usually
passes the end of the hind femora by
i min. ; that ofthe 9 by 3 mm.
Though somewhat local this species
is rather coniinon in southern New
England in wet, sedgy meadows along
rivers and brooks and in swampy tracts
where water often stands on the ground
or days at a time. It has a powerful,
swift, anrl sustained flight, often pro- longed for one or two lit~nclrcd feet in a straight, slightly rising, then gradn- ally descending course. It is quite shy, taking flight readily, and rising rapidly when flushed, and is best secured by
marking down, following up, and cap-
turing while on the ground or on start-
ing to risc. The 9 is more difficult
to flush than the 8 and seems lo be less abundant; I have captured over 200
specimens but in ordinary collecting
only about a lentil as many 9 as 2.
It may be looked for from the middle
of July till the end of the season; 1
have taken it at Readville, Mass., Jitly 21, 8, 9, yg.; Sherborn, Mass., Oct.
6. 2 ; and on intermediate dates at
Newtoiiville, Mass.. and North Haven
and Thompson, Conn. Mr. Scucldcr
icports it from Andover and Williams-
town, Mass., and Norway, Me. (Dist.
Ins. N. H.).
14. Mecostethus gracilis Scudd.
Fig. 14.
Stetheophyma gracili's. Thomas,
99.
Stethoå´phjw gracilis. Morse, 105.
r 7
I his species may be readily clistin-
pished from Zz'neafus, which it most
resembles in the form of the prono~i~n,
by the abscncw of a pde streak on the
base of the tcpnina near the anterior
margin ; by the more compressed form
oftlie body, especially of the head and
prozona ; the smaller size ; the broader tegtnina, whicli ltave the internal bor- der noticeably expanded; and in the
case of the male by the height of the
teeth of the rasp, which ale a5 high as
wide and acutely pointed. (See flatyp-
terusfor comparison with that species).
The tip of the abdomen in the J1
usually reaches just about to the tip of the hind femora; in the 9 exceeds them
by
half the length of the ovipositor,
one-and-a-half mm. It will be seen
that the tegmina of the 9 are very
variable in length.
This species is not uncommon in the
northern States, even plentiful locally, but rather shy, taking readily to wing
and flying two or three rods. Its flight is straight and it drops rather suddenly into the grass. On the summit of
Greylock Mt., where most of my spcci-
mens were procured, it was rather diffi- cnlt to distinguish (rom Cammda fel-
Zucida when flying. Both sexes fly
well bnt the J1 is the more active,




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November 1896 ] PSYCHE. 445
seeming three or four times as plenti-
ful. I have found it in wet, sedgy
meadows and bushy swamps, and on
mountain-tops. On Greylock it is
common in the low bushes an(I grass
of the extreme summit; on Washing-
ton in the sedgy area called the " cow-
pasture " or " Semiclea plateau." Its
note, a fine, dry '* scape," is the loud- est produced by any of our Tryx a 1' inae, and can be heard at a distance of two
or three rods. A description and nola-
tion of it will be found in Scudder's
Distribution of Insects in N. H. and
the ~3rd report of the Entomological
Society of Ontario.
I have taken it in the following local-
ities : Norway, Me., Aug. 16, 2 8 ;
Montgomery, Vt., July 18, 2 3. I 9 ;
Newport, Vt., 2 8 ; Greylock Mt.,
Adams, Mass., Aug. 17, So if, 22 9 .
Mr. Scuelder reports it abundant in
Jckrson md other parts of the White
Mts., and I have found it not i~ncoin-
mon 011 the summit of Mt. W~ihliiiigLon
in early Sept.
1.7. Mecostethus platypterus Scudd.
Figs. 15, I ja, 15b.
Arcy-ptera 'piatyjtera. Scudder,
463,-1862.
.Yiethcoi>hyvzaf/aty/å´tera Thomas,
99.
Stethophyma platyptera. Morse,
105.
This species, while of a dai ker, less
yellowish, brown, is very similar in
coloration to gracilis. The proster-
nun1 is less elevated than in either
lineatzis or gmcil& being scarcely
more than strongly convex. In the
male, the teeth of Hie rasp, while
larger than in lineatzis, arc less ele-
vated and acutely pointed than in pa-
cilts, and tlie mid-line of the sternum
of segment 9 of the abdomen is black.
It is also distinguished from gracilis
by the larger head, and longer and
more slender antennae.
Ar~tennd
Hind fen. Teg.
Teg. :- Hmd fem
8 ~r-rz,j r j -16.5
T<~-ZI r -3
10-11
17.6-20.6
24-25 -1.5-o
Body. 'Total,
23-26 26.8-29
35-40 3'1 -40
The end of the :ibdomen of the if is
~isiially 2 to 3 mm. short of the tip of hind femora; in one 9 it is of equal
lcn$li, and in another it exceeds them
by 2.5 mm.
Of this species I liave seen less than
a score of specimens. Of tliosc 1 took
15 if, 1 9, at Thompson, Conn., An;.
4, 2.5. lie 9 on the latter date, and one 9 was taken at Sherborn, Mass., by
Mr. A. L. l-iabcock. These are the
only localities known to me thoup-11 it
will probably be found to occur over a
wide area. At Thompson it is found
in company with .line& and is in>-
possible to distinguish from thai species when flying, though its flight is some-
what less sustained, and it is decidedly more difficult to flusli. It is a less shy and active species than linealns, :tnd
the female, while perfectly well able to fly, is very sluggish,- the single one
taken personally was secured while en-
(leavoring to start specimens up out of
the long sedge of a swamp, and bcing
seen perched upon the grass was at
once swept into the net.




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