Montana Field Guide

The following comes from Hebard (1928), Helfer (1971), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Vickery and Kevan (1985), Capinera et al. 2004, and Scott (2010). Ceuthopilus and related genera all have several morphological and life history features in common. Their bodies are thick and dorsally arched, hence the name “camel”, and range in body length from 13 mm to 33 mm. Heads are large, oval, bent downward and backward between the front legs and bear long antennae. Their eyes are somewhat pear-shaped with the narrow end pointing ventrally. Front and middle femora are slender and short; hind femora are thick, slightly bowed inward to the body, usually spined ventrally in males, feebly so in females. All tarsi are 4 segmented. Female ovipositors are nearly straight, stout at the basal end, tapering to the middle and upturned apically. Both males and females possess two cerci (appendages attached to the posterior tip of the abdomen) which are lush with sensory receptors. Females have an ovipositor between the two sensory cerci. All Camel Crickets are wingless and do not sing or chirp. Body colors are variable among species with individuals from brown to straw-colored, to patterned with blackish markings.

Little is known about the phenology of the Plains Camel Cricket. Adults have been collected from early July to mid-October (Vickery and Kevan 1985).

Body is small, and the pronotal length of males is 2.9 mm to 3.9 mm, and for females 3.0 mm to 4.1 mm. The thorax is densely covered with minute recumbent setae (reclining bristles), which give it a dull appearance. The ventral edge of the hind femur bears a row of 10 spines. Female ovipositor is elongate with 5 ventral spines at the tip. Male subgenital plate is stout at the base, and rounded to a V-shaped depression dorsally. Body color consists of light straw-colored and dark markings (Vickery and Kevan 1985).

There are about 150 species of Camel Crickets in North America classified into 21 genera. Eighty-nine (59%) of those species are in the genus Ceuthophilus. The Plains Camel Cricket can be easily confused with other species in the family, Rhaphidophoridae. However, only 5 species are presently known to occur in Montana, making identification somewhat simpler (Capinera et al. 2004).

The Plains Camel Cricket generally inhabits wooded areas but also found in debris and under rocks in shortgrass prairies and grassy hillsides. Some have been found in nests of Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) and Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys ordii) (Vickery and Kevan 1985).

Unknown.

Unknown.