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Dodge's Spur-throat Grasshopper - Melanoplus dodgei
General Description
The following is from Hebard (1928), Helfer (1971), Vickery and Kevan (1985), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), and Scott (2010). This is a medium size species. Its general color is brown and black, and yellow below. The wings (tegmina) are short, about the combined length of head and pronotum. There is a light band on the wings. The hind femur has two dark bands, and red ventrally and on the inner face. The hind tibia is reddish.
Phenology
Eggs hatch in early May at elevations about 6700 feet, and mid-June to mid-July at 12,000 feet. Adults occur from the end of May to October at lower elevations, and from July to September at high elevations (Capinera and Sechrist 1982).
Diagnostic Characteristics
The following comes from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Vickery and Kevan (1985), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), and Scott (2010). Male body length 20 mm, females 25 mm. The short wings are 1.3 to 1.5 times as long as the pronotum, extending only to the third or fourth abdominal segment.
Very similar to the
Huron Grasshopper (
M. huroni). Some of the taxonomic literature identifies it as
M. dodgei huroni (Hebard 1928).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
This species range is very limited to Montana and Idaho, south to Colorado (Capinera and Sechrist 1982, and Vickery and Kevan 1985). In Montana, there has only been a confirmed report in one county.
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 3
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
This is an Alpine species, inhabiting mountain slopes in areas of mixed herbaceous vegetation from the Montane to Alpine zones (Capinera and Sechrist 1982).
Food Habits
A mixed feeder on forbs, favoring species in the genus Smilacina (Mianthemum), Solomon's-seal (Capinera and Sechrist 1982).
Reproductive Characteristics
Very little is known about the reproductive characteristics of Dodge's Spur-throat. It overwinters in the egg stage. Produces only one brood per year and believed to take more than one year to complete development, as occurs in other high-altitude grasshopper species (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brooks, A.R. 1958. Acridoidea of Southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Orthoptera). The Canadian Entomologist (Supplement 9) 90:5-92.- Capinera, J.L. and T.S. Sechrist. 1982. Grasshoppers of Colorado: Identification, Biology, and Management. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University Experiment Station, Bulletin 584S. 161 p.
- Hebard, M. 1928. The Orthoptera of Montana. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. 80:211-306.
- Helfer, J.R. 1971. How to Know the Grasshoppers, Crickets, Cockroaches, and Their Allies. Revised edition (out of print), Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
- Scott, R.D. 2010. Montana Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets A Pictorial Field Guide to the Orthoptera. MagpieMTGraphics, Billings, MT.
- Vickery, V. R. and D. K. M. Kevan. 1985. The grasshopper, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions. Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario. Publication Number 1777. 918 pp.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Capinera, J.L., R.D. Scott, and T.J. Walker. 2004. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. Ithaca, NY. Cornell University Press.
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