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Buckell's Timberline Grasshopper - Buckellacris nuda
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General Description
The following is taken from Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), and Vickery and Kevan (1985). A relatively small, robust, wingless grasshopper. Male color pattern greenish-black to brownish, with distinct paired longitudinal pale-yellow stripes running laterally from the eyes to the terminal abdominal segment. On females, these stripes occur only on the anterior segments. Hind femur of males usually with dark dorsal bars, but less apparent to absent in females. Hind tibia is yellow to yellowish green.
Phenology
Occurs early July to mid-September. Overwinters in the egg stage (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Body size 15-24 mm. The prosternal spine in both sexes is blunt, not an acute point at the apex. Examine a male’s genitalia for positive identification: cercus is broad at base, tapering to an acute point at apex; furcula are well developed triangular plates (Vickery and Kevan 1985). There are two other recognized species of this grasshopper for which it could be confused (but not in Montana): B. hispidia and B. chilcotinae chilcotinae . Their ranges are in British Columbia and Washington (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Interior British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Idaho panhandle, and northwestern Montana, where it is confirmed for 2 counties (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 11
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Alpine meadows among rocks, coarse vegetation and grasses; at elevations ranging from >2600 to 9000 feet and sometimes beyond timberline. Noted to "occur in discrete and disjunct populations" (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Food Habits
No specific or favored food plants have been observed or noted.
Reproductive Characteristics
Its early occurrence of adults together with prolonged presence of nymphs indicate this species may have a 2-year life cycle (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Stewardship Responsibility
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. Helfer, J.R. 1971. How to Know the Grasshoppers, Crickets, Cockroaches, and Their Allies. Revised edition (out of print), Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. 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. Hebard, M. 1928. The Orthoptera of Montana. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. 80:211-306. Helfer, J.R. 1987. How to Know the grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches and their allies. Dover Publications, Inc., New York. 363 pp. Scott, R.D. 2010. Montana Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets A Pictorial Field Guide to the Orthoptera. MagpieMTGraphics, Billings, MT.
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