We reared Oriental Migratory Locusts, Locusta migratoria manilensis (Meyen) in the laboratory from 3^rd instar until adult death, at five constant temperatures (18, 21, 24, 27 and 30°C), and recorded life history variables. Temperature strongly influenced growth, development and behaviors. Growth and development rates were both positive linear functions of temperature, with low thermal thresholds for nymphal growth ( 15°C) and development (13°C). There was no mating at 18°C and no oviposition at 21 °C and below. Rearing temperature did not significantly influence mass at adult molt, except for the 18°C-nymphs who molted to adults with significantly smaller mass. Females laid their first egg pod significantly later at 24°C than at 30°C. There were strong but nonsignificant trends for low-temperature females to die earlier and lay fewer and lighter egg pods; 24°C-females averaged less than half the dry lifetime egg mass as 30°C-females. Our results show that L. m. manilensis is a warm-climate species, and explain its current range and phenology in China. Knowledge of the thermal physiology and thermal ecology of L. m. manilensis will aid in its control and in predicting future outbreaks.

Topical application of a series of concentrations of lufenuron, a chitinsynthesis inhibitor, on the neck membrane of newly molted fifth-instar desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, gave various ultrastructural changes in ovarioles, including a disintegrated follicular epithelial cell layer, vacuolated cytoplasm and the appearance of lysosomal bodies. In males, electron micrographs showed loosely disrupted testicular tissues with vacuolated testicular epithelia. In both sexes the neurosecretory cells in the pars intercerebralis exhibited trapped neurosecretion without normal liberation into their connecting nerves and the mitochondria appeared to be losing their cristae.

The genus Necaxacris Roberts, 1939 (Acrididae: Melanoplinae) is endemic to Mexico. Two species were previously known for this genus: N. micans (Hebard, 1932) and a species collected by Roberts in 1936, mentioned in litteris by Descamps(1975) as N. moctezumae Roberts, 1975, but never formally described. We here describe and assign the name of N. tamazunchale n. sp. for this taxon and describe three additional new species: N. azura n. sp., N. afurculae n. sp. and N. davidi n. sp. A revision, description and illustration of diagnostic characters to identify the species that make up the genus are provided for the first time. Information on distribution and habitat of the species treated is also provided herein.

Short-winged adults appeared in the 2^nd generation of inbred colonies of migratory locusts, Locusta migratoria, originating from Tsushima Island, Japan. Of 14 family lines, two produced several short-winged adults in the 2^nd generation. These short-winged adults also had shorter hind femora than long-winged adults, indicating they may represent ‘the short-winged morph’ rather than monsters with abnormally short wings. The two wing morphs could be separated by the ratio of forewing length to head width. Crosses between the two wing morphs revealed that the short-winged morph was controlled by a simple recessive Mendelian unit. It is unknown whether the short-winged morph occurs in the field.

Green-colored hatchlings appeared in the 2^nd generation of inbred family lines in Locusta migratoria L. Female adults collected in Tsukuba, Japan were kept individually and eggs collected from them. Locusts of the first generation from each female were reared in a group and eggs of the 2^nd generation obtained from them. Green and normal-colored (fawn) hatchlings appeared together from the same egg pods, originating from 2 of the 34 family lines established. When they were reared together in the same cage, the green morph suffered from a high rate of mortality. A few green-morph female individuals attained the adult stage with light body coloration, but died without producing any eggs. Although no information is available about their genetic background, it seems likely these green morphs represent a recessive, semilethal trait that appeared after inbreeding of wild-caught female adults. Photographs of hatchlings, nymphs and adults are presented.

Topographic homology conjectures (= THCs) in fore- and hind wing venation of extant king crickets, raspy crickets and weta are re-evaluated. Based on the premises that topological homology is established so that the amount of transformation that has to be assumed to explain differences between patterns is minimized, a new set of THCs (= STHC), based on morphological data on the species cf. mexicanus de Saussure, 1859: 209, laudatum Johns, 1997, ornata Willemse, 1963, cf. bicornis Karny, 1929a, pinguipes? Rentz in Morton & Rentz, 1983, pinguipes Rentz in Morton & Rentz, 1983, an undetermined species, punctipennis Walker, 1869, and rufovaria Kirby, 1888, is elaborated. Among other transformations, the occurrence of a re-routing of MP along CuA (i.e., the basal M CuA stem splits into MA and MP CuA, instead of into MA MP and CuA) is demonstrated for pinguipes, punctipennis, and rufovaria. Concurrently, intra-specific variability in forewing venation is appreciated for laudatum, ornata, cf. bicornis, pinguipes, punctipennis, and rufovaria. A cladotypic-compliant nomenclatural scheme is elaborated based on the proposed THCs. The taxon Agryllacris nom.-dis.typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, CuA CuPaα with two distal branches only’; the taxon Tagryllacris nom.-dis.-typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, M CuA splits into MA and MP CuA’; the taxon Etagryllacris nom.-dis.-typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, CuA CuPaα keep fused’; the taxon Metagryllacris nom. nov, dis. Zeuner, 1939, typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, MA fused with R at wing base’. Based on new data, the species †perfecta Sharov, 1968 is identified as a member of the taxon Agryllacris, and the fossil species †megaptera Gorochov, 1987a, isimplicis Gorochov, 1987a, †elongata Gorochov, 1987a, †madygenioides Gorochov, 1987a, †perlonga Gorochov, 1987a, and † devexa Gorochov, 1987a are considered as junior synonyms of †perfecta. The nomenclatural treatment is extended to the unrelated taxon †Bintoniellidae nom. Handlirsch, 1938, dis. Sharov, 1968, typ. nov, defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, no distinct base of CuPaα diverging from CuPa (and fusing with CuA or M CuA)’. Belonging to this taxon, the species †primaria Sharov, 1968 is considered as a junior synonym † triassica Sharov, 1968:168.A consequence of the assignment of †perfecta to Agryllacris is that this group stems in the Triassic, at least, i.e., ca 170 million years earlier than previously assumed. As a result, the loss of the complex ‘tettigonid-gryllid-like’ (i.e., Grylloptera) stridulatory apparatus is no longer needed to account for the morphology of king crickets, raspy crickets and weta forewing. Finally, a refinement of the conce

Grasshopper communities were sampled in three associated habitats of the Central Basin of Tennesee: cedar glades, xeric limestone prairies, and cedar hardwood forest. Twenty-five grasshopper species were collected across all three habitats. Eleven species were found in the cedar glades, 12 species were collected in the xeric limestone prairies, and six species were collected from the cedar-hardwood forests. A Principal Component Analysis of the resulting species lists indicated that grasshopper community composition differed significantly between each habitat. Four new state records for Tennessee were documented during this survey. An annotated species list is presented.

Based upon a week's field work in northwestern El Salvador, we add 14 species to the list of grasshoppers known from the country, increasing the count to 24 species. Habitat notes and photos are presented for some.

Five neotropical wasp-mimicking species of the genus Aganacris—two known only from females and three from males—are reviewed. Based on observation of interspecific interactions and morphological comparison, it is shown that sexual dimorphism occurs within species, and that female species are conspecific with sympatric male species. This is reinforced by field observations in northern Peru of a pairing between A. pseudosphex and A. nitida, wherein the male was in the process of secreting a spermatophore. Aganacris sphex and A. pseudosphex are morphologically nearly identical and probably represent variants of a single species. Since those species known from females only are both senior to sympatric male species, the number of species is reduced from five to two — A. nitida (A. pseudosphex and A. sphex designated herein as junior synonyms) and A. velutina (A. insectivora designated herein as a junior synonym).

After being unrecorded for approximately 70 years, Aztecacris gloriosus (Hebard, 1935) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is documented from several sites in the Pajarito Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, USA. An association with Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) (Asteraceae) is suggested. The known range of the species is small and limited to Santa Cruz County. Habitat and associated orthopterans are discussed, as is an attempted mating by a male Melanoplus on a female A. gloriosus. Photos of A. gloriosus and its habitat are presented.

I analyzed chapter VIII of William Henry Hudson's “The Naturalist in La Plata”, a popular book published in 1895. Herein the famous naturalist ornithologist and writer relates many observations made by him in his youth in a region of Buenos Aires, Argentina, accounts of a large number of natural phenomena especially pertaining to animal life. Chapter VIII is called “Mimicry and Warning Colours in Grasshoppers”. Although very interesting by virtue of Hudson's considerations of aposematism and Batesian mimicry in grasshoppers and katydids, this chapter contains essential errors of identification of the orthopteran species he discusses.

A new genus and two new species of phalangopsid crickets are described from the High Andean forest surrounding Bogotá city, Colombia. Lecticusta n. gen. is placed in the C ensemble, considering its internal genitalia characters, such as development of ectophallic apodemes and presence of epiphallic projections (Desutter 1900).

Shorthorn grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are the most economically important pests of rangeland throughout much of North America. Their densities are estimated using a number of methods, including sweep sampling. Economic thresholds are usually set at 8 adult grasshoppers per square yard, despite differences in range conditions associated with geography and weather patterns. Several authors have concluded that grasshopper numbers are higher in ditch areas and the economic threshold in these habitats is often set substantially higher. This study compared grasshopper numbers and species composition at 120 rangeland sites across ∼ 400 km of northern Nebraska in 2007 and 2010. By taking sweep net samples in the ditch, parallel with the fence inside the pasture, and approximately 30 meters into the pasture, we found the numbers and composition of grasshoppers differed significantly across this area. Mean adult grasshopper capture was highest in the ditch samples (22.4 ± 1.9 grasshoppers captured per 20 net sweeps) compared to fence (10.3 ± 1.0) and field samples (15.9 ± 1.6). Mean adult capture increased from east (4.8 ± 0.4) to west (25.5 ± 2.1). The same trends were observed when nymphal numbers were included in analysis. Based on these results, rangeland grasshopper sampling should be conducted more than 30 meters from the fenceline, and thresholds in roadside ditches should be higher than for rangeland pastures.

New species of the genera Mezentia Stål, Taeniophora Stål, Nautia Stål, Caenolampis Descamps and Inbiolampis n. gen. (all members of the Bactrophorinae Amedegnato 1974) are described from Costa Rica and Panama. The previously unknown male of Taeniophora rubrosignata Descamps & Rowell 1984 is described; its cereal structure links it to South American species of the genus, rather than to the other Central American species. A key to the Central American species of Mezentia is provided. New species: Mezentia prymnocerca, M. proracerca, Taeniophora pirrensis, T. santosi, Caenolampis copensis, Inbiolampis herediensis.