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Psyche 9:135-141, 1900.
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THE SPECIES OF CIRCOTETTIX, A NORTH AMERICAN GENUS OF OEDIPODINAE.
BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Circotc~tix was established by me in
18 7 6 upon Uedipoda undztlata Thorn.;
and two other species, one of them then
undescribed, were mentioned as belong-
ing to it. In the same year Thomas de-
scribed an additional species and five
years later I published the undescribed
species above mentioned. In 1884
Saussure added two more and revised
the whole gen.is (Prodr. Oedip.) and
afterwards desciibecl a sixth species, in his Additament.~.. Since then Bruner
has described several species, refcr-
ring some of them here and some else-
where. In my recent Catalogue of
N. A. Orthoptera eleven species are
listed, but since its publication I have undertaken a new study of the species,
necessitating some changes, the result
of which appears in the subjoined table
of ten species, to which I have added a
few notes, principally on distribution.
In this table I have clistingr.iished the radials (radiate veins) of the anal area of the hind wings, as superjacent or sub- jacent, according as they rise above or
fall below the general plane of the wing; the first superjacent radial terminates in the middle of the axillary lobe.
In the last two species, aberrant mem-
bers of the genus, the arrangement and
relations of the first subjacent and super- jacent radials of the hind wings closely resemble the same features in C. verru-
cuZaius, next which they are placed.
O&a?ipuda spars6 Thorn., which is prob-
ably a Circotettix, is not included in the table, as I have not seen it recently and it is at present indeterminable. The
type is lost and although the figure given in Wheeler's report shows hind wings of
a shape hardly consistent with Circotet- tix, yet when the genus was established
I had evidently seen the species and re- garded it as a Circotettix. Saussure
also so regarded it.
Circotettix in the New World is repre-
sented by the genus Bryodema in the
Old World, but the former is much the
richer in species.
Pwhs 9 135-141 tprc.1903). htlp:/lpsyclir nilclub or@@-I35 html
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136 PSYCHE. [December,
Tatk of the Species of Circotettix.
A1.
Insects of medium or large size.
Pronotum acutangulate or rectangulate
hind, rarely feebly obtusangulate; first (humeral) lobe of hind wings distin elongated, protruding distinctly beyond the general curve of the outer mar which is generally lobate.
b\.
Tegmina relatively broad ; general form of hind wings subfalcate, the ci of the outer margin distinctly sinuate, the radiate field very broad and full, the humeral field relatively broad.
c.
Hind wings fuscous or else thalassine at base, rarely hyaline, and crossed by a mesial fuscous band.
d1. Hind wings fuscous at base or hyaline with very heavily infuse; radiate veins; upper fork of first subjacent radial free, and relatively dis from the first superjacent radial.
el.
Of relatively small size, the tegmina hardly exceeding 25 mm length ; hind wings wholly blackish fuscous or with only the apical fo or less hyalinc. . . I. maaih
e2.
Of relatively large size, the tegmina nearly 35 mm. in length; I wings hyaline with veiy heavily infuscated radials and the whole 1 generally black to a varying distance up to more than half of the w 2. cadiah
d1.
Whole of hind wings thalassine; upper fork of first subjacent ra running very close to the first superjacent radial and finally uniting wit 3. thalussz
ca.
Hind wings more or less sulphureous* at base, and more or less distir crossed by a mesial fuscous band.
a".
Basal half of hind wings with very weak coloring, almost hyaline ; u] branch of first subjacent radial free ; apical margin of axillary lobe stro arcuate, the lobes below it distinctly emarginatc . . . 4. lob, d2. Basal half of hind wings with rather strong coloring ; upper branc first subjacent radial uniting with the first superjacent radial ; apical ma of axillary lobe obliquely truncate, but little arcuate, the remaining I, apically subtruncate.
el.
Markings of tegmina less conspicuous, and more distinctly dust into three transverse fasciae ; upper branch of first subjacent radial *C. ZaZaiusis described by Saussiire as having the basal half of the hind wings "dilute hyalino-sulfurescens ad 8 . '
I have seen none with the latter coloiing-, but it may ea'aly be distinguished from the species of the pre alternate category by its transverse mesial band, though this is incomplete.
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December, IQOO.] PSYCHE. 187
ning for some distance beside' and close to the first superjacent radial, before uniting abruptly with it; hind tihiae pale dull yellow, but black at base . . . 5. undzdatus.
2. Markings of tegmina generally very conspicuous and pretty uniformly distributed ; upper branch of first subjacent radial uniting ar once (as an oblique cross vein) with the first superjaccnt radial, which is of about the same thickness as the next superjacent radial; hind tibiae dark glaucous, with a pale yellow post-basal annulus and a black base . 6. shasfmss,
V1. Tegmina relatively narrow; hind wings narrower than in the alternate category, with but feeble indication of falcation, the radiate field scarcely broader than is usual in Trimcrotropis, the humeral field relatively narrow, the basal half sulphureous, beyond more or less infuscatecl. c1.
Lateral fovcolae of the head triangular but distinctly elongate; hind wings wholly infuscaled in apical half, though of deeper intensity next the sulphur- eous base, the costal stigma generall] deeply ii~fuma~ed; hind tibiae plumbco- glaucous, with a post-basal yellowish annulus . . 7. s/;ĺ´Jusus ca. Lxteral foveolae of the head equilateral or nearly so; hind wings iiifus- cated beyond the sulphurcous base only in a band of irregular width across the middle.anc1 at the apex, the intervening region hyaline with fuscous veins, the costal stigma luteous though black margiuecl ; hind tibiae yellowish with black base and apex, and wi1.11 mesial fuscous clouclings beneath. 8. vernic?~latus.
A . Insects of relatively small size. Pronotiuu obtusaugulate behind, generally distinctly so ; front (humeral) loiic of hind wings not protruding in any noticeable way beyond the general curve of the outer margin, which is not or barely lobate, bl. Tegmina distinctly flecked with fuscous; hind wings broad, hyaline, with luteous marginal stigma; hind tibiae dull yellow' . . 9.$e?ĺ´p/exiis P. Tegmina obscurely clouded nit11 fuscous; hind wings narrow, crossed by a strongly arcuate narrow fuscous hnd and with fuscous marginal stigma, the base very faintly washed with greenish yellow; hind tibiae pale glaucous. I o. ocridentalis.
I. Circotettix maculatus. near Lake Tahoe, Nev., Oct. (H. W. Circotettix maculafus Scudd.!, Rep. Henshaw - Wheeler's expl. j, Sierra U. S. ent. comm., ii, App., 26, pi. 17. fig. Eevacla, July 17-22 (Baron Osten 10 (1881) ; Sauss., Prods. Oedip. 176- Sxken), Truckee, Cal., Oct. 10 (Scud- I77 (1884). der), 'l'ahoe Co. Cal. (Stanf. Univ.), The specimens 1 have seen come from and Cloud's Rest, Yosemite Valley, Cal., Nevada, July (0. S. Westcat). Mts. Aug. 12 (A. P. Morse).
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138 PSYCHE. [December, I
2. Circotettix carlinianus.
Oedipoda ca~liniana Thom., Proc.
acad. nat. sc. Philad., 1870, 81 (1870). Oedipoda ca~lingima Thom., Ann. rep.
U. S. geol. surv. terr., 11, 265, 271;
(1871); Thom., Syn. Acrid. N. A., 126
(1873).
Circotettix carlingianus Thom., Proc.
Oav. acad. nat. sc., I, 254-255 (1876);
Sauss., Prodr. Ocdip., 176 (1884).
Circotettix cadimanus Scudd., PI OC.
Dav. acad. nat. sc., VIII, 42 (1900).
Named, according to Thomas, after
Col. Carlin. The g has entered the
name apparently as a typographical
error.
This species varies greatly in the
coloring of the wings as regards the
extension from the base of the fuscous
infurnation; it may cover more than
half the wing, or it may he entirely ab- sent except from the veins, but in the
latter case there is often a faint indica- tion of the upper portion of a median
cross-band, as in some other species;
this is especially the case with speci-
mens from British Columbia, but is also
seen in one from southern Colorado.
British Columbia specimens are also
smaller than those from further south.
In my notes on the songs of our
Orthoptera given in the 23d Report of
the Entomological society of Ontario,
p. 78,I have made for this species state- ments which belong instead to C. zmdz~l- aius. The present species is by no
means so noisy, remaining only five or
six seconds in the air during its flights, and making a rustling sound rather tl
a crackle,- in fact more closely resi
bling the faint rustle of C. macula,
I have before me specimens from
following localities, all, unless othera specified, taken by myself : - Colora
7-8000' (Morrison); Garland, C
8ooo', Aug. 28-29; Pueblo, Col., J
8-9 ; South Park, Col., 8-ioooo', A
11-16; Douglas Creek, Col., Aug. 5
White River, Col., July 24-Aug. :
Green River, Wyo., July 21-3 I ; All
Station, Wyo., 6ooo1, July 27 ; Fos
Wyo., Sept. 2; Parowan, Utah, 6oc
July 3--10 (Palmer); Reno, Nev., A
18 (Packard); British Columbia E
Vancouver Is. (Crotch). Other regii
from which it has been reported a
from Ft. Benton, Mont., to Ft. McLe
Alberta (BI uner) , Montana (Thom
Biuner), the Yello\kstone region (Blur
Saussure), Vakuna Wash., and no1
western Nebraska (Bruner) .
3 Circotettix thalassinus.
Circotettix thalassinus Sauss., Prc
Oedip., 177-178 (1884).
I have received this species only fr
Nevada (H. Edwards), from which st
it was described by Saussure, and fr
Tahoe Co., Cal., August (Mus. Lei:
Stanford Univ.).
4. Circotettix lobatus.
Circotetfix lobatus Sauss., Add. prc
Oedip., 65-66, pi., fig. 5 (1888).
Circotetlix Zapidicola Br~in.!, Proc. U
nat. mus., XII, 75-16 (1890).
My single specimen was recei-
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December, quo.] PSYCHE. 139
from Bruner, and comes from Salmon
City, Idaho. Saussure's specimens
come from Colorado. The synonymy
is pretty evident.
5. Circotettix undulatus.
Oedtpoda zmdzi7ata Thorn., Ann. rep.
U. S. geol. surv. terr.,V, 460 (1871);
Thorn., Syn. Acrid. N. A., 125-126
(1873).
Circotettix widzdatur Scucld,, Bull. U.
S. geol. surv. terr., 11, 265 (1876);
Sauss., Prodr. Oedip., 177 (1884) ;
Sauss., Add. prodr. Oedip., 65, pi. fig. 6 (1888).
To this species belong the remarks I
have made under C. carlinianus (Rep.
ent. soc. Out., XXIII, 78) concerning
the noise made by the insect in flight.
Specimens at hand, all taken by my-
self unless otherwise indicated, come
from the top of the range between the
Sapello and Pecos rivers, N. Mex.
I ~ooo', Aug. (Cockerell) ; Colorado
(Morrison) ; Garland, Col., 8000', Aug.
28-29 ; Sierra Blanca, Col., below tim-
ber line, I I-I~OGO', Aug. 29 ; Florissantj Col., 80oof, June, Aug. 17 -22 ; South
Park, Col., 8-~oooo', Aug. I 1-15; above Alma, Col., IOOOO', Aug. 13-14; Empire
City, Col. (Palmer); Georgetown, Col.,
7500-8500J, July I 1-18; Grand River,
Col., Aug.22 ; Roan Mts., Col., Aug. 16- 17; Provo, Utah, Aug. 23--24; American
Fork Caiion, Utah, gsoo', Aug. 2-3;
Wahsatch Mts. near Beaver, Utah, July
12-18 (Palmer); Alkali Station, Wyo.,
July 27 ; Fossil, Wyo., Sept. 2 ; Yellow- stone Park, Sept. 6-12. Other districts
besides the above from which it has
been reported are : Nebraska (Dodge,
Bruner), Montana (Brunei'), Nevada
(Thomas, Saussure), Yakima, Wash.
(Bruner), Victoria (Fletcher).
6. Circotettix shastanus.
Circofettix shusianns Brun., Proc. U.
S. nat. nius., XII, 76-77 (1890).
Of ratherslender form, compressed, faintly pubescent, brownish testaceous, heavily
flecked especially on tegmina with dark or blackish fuscous; the pronotu~n typically with a large central spot above and a patch at the upper limit of the Lateral lobes on the prozona; the tegmina heavily flecked almost uniformly tliroughout but especially on basal half with blackish fnscnus. deeper in tint in southern examples, there being but faint traces of transverse fasciation. Head testa- ceous, all the carinae punctate with black, the iastigium of vertex shallow but with raised margins and a feeble median carina; antennae dull testaceous banded with fuscous. Prono- turn posteriurly recLangiilate, the margin of the process punctate or interrupted with black. Tegmina broad; hind wings subfal- cafe, pale sulphurcons basally, this color often extending further along the rays,
crossed just beyond the middle by an unequal, sometimes broken, more or less cloudy, fus- cous band, sending a taenia nearly half way to the base in the hurneral field, the apical por- tion of the wing hyaline with fuscons veins, the coslal stigma infumate; form of the
wings precisely as in C. unddatus, but the venation diking in that the upper branch of the firbt snbjiicer~l radial unites at birth, as an oblique cross-vein, with the first superja- cent radial, in which point it differs from all the other species. Hind femora cinereo-tes- taceous, thrice fasciate with blackish fuscous ;
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140 PSYCHE.
[December, ,900
hind tihiac dark glaucous, with a pale yellow C~ote///,r s?;ffl!sus is a stepping Stone post-basal annulufi and a bl;d base.
toward the fallax group of Trimerotropis Length of bod?: 8, 26 W ?, 30 llll",;
allcl is ,,,itll clifiicI1lty separable from antennae, 8, q.2? nun., ?. 10 ~nm.; teglxina, T.fa/l~x; the veins of the hind wings
J', 29.5 mm., 9, 29 min ; hind tibiae, 8 $, n.5 mm,
are but little tliickcnrd and the mark-
ings of the wings are much the same.
~3, I2 , sisl<i~(lll, Or., ; Ill c. sl<fiL~,~x, tiowever, the infurnation Yosemite Valley, Gal., A%. 11, A.
ill the middle of the wings is generally Morse. deeper, To a. less extent than in the I redescribe this species becam I
otlier species of ~ i ~ - ~ ~ l ~ t t i ~ , the cells of am not quite sure that it is identical
outer llalf of
amti area are pre-
with Bruner's C. shstniius. Thai was ~o,l,inalltly tran,,el-se, in T. fa//ax described from a single specimen from
are usually polygonal and subequal.
Shasta Co. Cal., which I have not seen,
1 hve seen
[ram Vancou-
and which, if now in existence is in the lsl, pwards, crotch), British CO-
national museum. Bruner describes the lLl,,,,3ia (crotch), yanailno and Sandon tegmina as agreeing in markings with 8, (1, ( ~ l ~ t ~ h ~ ~ ) , oregon city, Or., ~111~ those of his C. Zafidi~~ola (C. tobatus ( ~ ~ ~ - * ~ ~ ~ l ) , sierra Nevada (Edwards), Sauss.), but in their conspicuous Incite of Lake Tahoe, Nev., Sept., Oct. ling my specimens are widely different ( ~ ~ ~ ~ l , . ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~heel~r's expl.), and Col- from a specimen of C. iapidirohi Sent me orado, 8500r,-10000' (Morrison); and by Bruner, in which the markings arc have taken it myself at American Fork nearly obliterated. There is hoivcvcr a canon, upah, 9500f, 23, Garland, wide difference also in this respect be- co), 8000', 28-29, ~ ~ l ~ i t ~ u , Col., tween the specimens before nie from 63~o', Aug. 24-25, Florissant, Col., Oregon and the Yosemitc valley, the goool, A ~ ~ ~ . 17-22, Alma, Col., ~oooo', latter being far more distinctly muttled, 1-5-14, north fork of ~ ~ ~ ~ t h Platte, so that I am inclined to lay little stress col,, 10. Evanston, Wyo., 6800f,
on this point. In thestnictural features 6, yellowstolle Park, Sept. 6- of the wings, the specimens before me I+ has also been reported from agree well with Bruner's description. Washington (Bruner), and wrongly by me from Mt. Slmsta, Cala., the reference 7. circotettix suffusus.
ljei~ig properly to Tfdax.
Trimerotropis sy/fusa-s Scnckl.!, Bull.
U. S. geol. sui'v. terr., 11, 265 (1876). 8. Circotettix verruculatus.
Circofetfix s!~ffasus Scudd.. Proc.
Davenp. acad. nat. sc., VIII, 43 (1900). Locusfa ver~-?~citZafa Kirby, Faun. bor. Trimerol~o$is cohimliia Scudcl.! Rep.
amel-., IV, 250 (1837).
en!.. SOC. Ont., XXIII, 77 (1893). Oedipoiia. vernmdd~i Scudd ., Can,
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December, ~~oo.1 PSYCHE. 141
nat., VII, 287 (1862); Thom., Syn.
Acrid. N. A., 115-1 16 (1873).
Trimerotropis verruculafa Scudd.,
IIitchc., Rep. geol. N. H., I, 377, fig. 57 (1874).
~~~e~~~ ~J~UCZ~/~Z/US S~USS., Prodr.
Oedip., 175-176 (1884).
Locusts latipe~m's Harr., Ins. inj. veg., 144 (1841).
I have seen specimens from Nova
Scotia (Piers) ; Mt. Desert Isl. and
Moosehead Lake, Me. (Scudder); White
Mts. N. H., valleys and summits, late
July and early August (Scudder); Sud-
bury, Vt. (Scudder); Princeton and
summit of Graylock, Mass. (Scudder) .
Summit of Mt. Tom, Mass. (Shurtleff);
Chateaugay Lake, Adirondacks, N. Y.
zooo', (Bowditch) ; Montreal (Caul-
field) ; Prescott (Billings) ; Sudbury
(Scudder) , and DeGrassi Point, Ont.,
July 3 I (Walker) ; southern Illinois
(Thomas); Red River (Gunn), and
Dufferin, Manit. (Dawson) ; Wigwam
Point, Lake Winnipeg (Scudder) ; British Columbia (Crotch) ; Vancouver Isi.
(Edwards); and the upper McKenzie
River, Great Bear Lake and Arctic
America (Kennicott) . It has further
been reported from New Haven, Conn.
(Smith); vicinity New York City (Beu-
tenmtiller) ; New Jersey (Smith) ; Que-
bec (Scudder) and Saguenay River
(Norton); Lake Simcoe, northein On-
tario and Lake Superior (Walker);
Minnesota (Lugger); Illinois and Mon-
tana (McNeill); Nebraska (Bruner);
Colorado (Saussure, Cockerell); Dakota
and Montana (Bruner); California
(Saussure); Saskatchewan region (Scud-
der); and Lat. 57' [Athabasca] (Kirby).
It is also credited to Mississippi by
Saussure, but surely by error. Proba-
bly the references to Colorado and Cal-
fornia belong to C. suffusus.
9. Circotettix perplexus.
Trimerofro$is per$Zexa Brun.!, Proc.
U. S. nat. mils., XII, 74-75 (1890).
Mr. Bruner has sent me one of his
types from Chadron, Nebr., Aug. It
has not been reported from any other
point.
10. Circotettix occidentalis.
Oedipoda, (?) occidenf~zZzs Brun.!, Proc. U. S. nat. mus., XII, 77-78, pi. I, fig. 7 (1890).
Circoteffix(?) occzdentalis Scudd., Proc. Dav. acad. nat. sc., VIII, 43 (1900).
It was described from the vicinity of
San Francisco, Cal., November, and
has not been reported elsewhere. I
owe my specimens to Professor Bruner.
I I. Circotettix sparsus.
Oeclipoda spama Thorn., Rep. U. S.
geol. surv. w. 100 mer. V, 883, pi. 45,
fig. 6 (1875).
Circotettix sfarsus Scudd., Bull. U. S.
geol. surv. terr., 11, 265 (1876.)
Described by Thomas from New
Mexico and since 1876 unrecognized.
See a paragraph above, just preceding
the table.
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