Bruner spur-throated grasshopper (Melanoplus bruneri)

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Bruner spur-throated grasshopper (Melanoplus bruneri)
Bruner spur-throated grasshopper
Distribution
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories
Taxonomy
Family:Acrididae
Subfamily:Melanoplinae
Genus:Melanoplus
Additional resources
Full taxonomy at OSF

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The Bruner spurthroated grasshopper (Melanoplus bruneri) is widely distributed across North America, ranging from the arctic tundra, to northern regions of the western prairies, the herbaceous grasslands of the Northeast, and the mountain meadows of the West. [1] It is a known pest of rangeland forage and outbreaks at irregular intervals.

Nomenclature

Melanoplus bruneri Scudder, 1897. For full information, see this taxon's page on Orthoptera Species File

Identification

Melanoplus bruneri ranges from pale brown to blackish. The hind femur is typically clearly banded, though this is less noticeable in paler specimens. The hind tibia is generally pink to red but can sometimes be pale greenish-yellow. [2] Male adults have a unique large, flattened cercus, with its base showing straight and parallel dorsal and ventral sides, while the tip curves upward. The male's subgenital plate is elongated, with a noticeable upward curve towards the end, which is bilobed and shallowly notched at the apex. Additionally, the male's mesosternum bears a prominent hump similar to that of its close relative, Melanoplus sanguinipes.[1]

Identification
Stage Color Wings Body length [2]
Nymph
Female adult 22-29 mm
Male adult 20-25 mm

Identification resources

Name Year published Resource link Descriptive keyword Language Geographic purview Author Year published
Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers 2002 View URL Species identification English United States of America United States Department of Agriculture 2002
Grasshoppers of the Western United States View URL Management, Species identification English United States of America United States Department of Agriculture
Montana.gov grasshopper field guides View URL Species identification, Management, Biology English United States of America
The Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. Lucid mobile app 2016 View URL Management, Species identification English United States of America 2016
USDA ARS grasshopper species fact sheets View URL Management, Species identification English United States of America Agricultural Research Services, United States Department of Agriculture



Distribution

The range of Melanoplus bruneri spans from Alaska to Quebec, south to Arizona. [2] They are particularly destructive to grazing areas in the Northwestern US and Canada.They can be found in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [3]

Biology

The Bruner spurthroated grasshopper has long wings and robust wing muscles, allowing it to fly, disperse, and migrate effectively.[1] In mountain meadows, M. bruneri eggs need two years for development in the soil before hatching, with some possibly requiring three years. A USDA study revealed that eggs remaining unhatched after two years harbored fully formed embryos. These eggs needed additional exposure to cold temperatures before hatching when reintroduced to 85°F conditions.[1] There is currently no available description of the natural habitat and method of female oviposition. However, in laboratory conditions, females readily deposit eggs into bare soil. The egg pod, measuring 1 to 1.25 inches in length and curved at the base, typically holds 21 to 22 tan-colored eggs, each ranging from 3.9 to 4.2 mm in length. [1]

Habitat and ecology

Melanoplus bruneri inhabits forested areas, grassy mountain slopes, aspen groves, open glades, and rangelands where bushes and shrubs are common. [2] [3] It is a mixed feeder but prefers forbs. [1] As summer progresses, the diet of this grasshopper has been observed to undergo changes.M. bruneri will eat lupine until depleted and then move to Timothy grass. [4] Other common plants eaten by the Bruner spurthroated grasshopper include dandelion, sandwort, cinquefoils, and fungi. Less common foods are beard-tongue, owlclover, yarrow, parry oatgrass, and Idaho fescue. [5] It has been reported to damage seed crops of timothy grass, alsike clover, and alfalfa in north central British Columbia and to oats in Alberta.[6]

The Bruner spurthroated grasshopper, an early-hatching mountain species, emerges alongside Melanoplus alpinus, Melanoplus borealis, and Camnula pellucida nymphs in the first and second weeks of June in Montana and Wyoming. [1] However, in cooler seasons, hatching may be delayed until the final week of June or the initial week of July. Typically, hatching spans three weeks, but if hindered by a late spring, it might occur within a condensed timeframe of one week. Nymphs mature into adults in early summer. [1]

Land-use change

Pest status

The species experiences significant population growth in weedy mountain meadows. Studies indicate that dense populations exhaust indigenous host plants during the adult stage of the grasshoppers.[1] Small numbers of the Bruner spurthroated grasshopper in a mountain meadow are beneficial as they feed principally on their preferred forbs, many of which are toxic to livestock, but large numbers are destructive as they feed heavily on forage grasses and may devastate a meadow. Small populations of the Bruner spurthroated grasshopper in mountain meadows are advantageous because they primarily consume their preferred forbs, some of which are harmful to livestock. However, large populations can be detrimental as they compete with livestock and heavily consume forage grasses. [1]

Outbreaks

in the 1920's and 1950's Melanoplus bruneri was reported as a rangeland pest in British Columbia.[7] [3] There was a large outbreak in Mt. Moriah, Nevada in the 1930’s that impacted sheep grazing. Survey results showed 20 adults/sq yard over 2000 acres. During the first five days of September 1937, poison bait was carried up to the sheep range by pack mules and spread by hand. Cold summer weather and hail killed off the large population that was still present the following year. [3] Records show outbreaks and damage in the mountains of Montana, Utah, and Wyoming in the 1950's and 1960's. [1] In the mountain meadows of the western regions of the United States, this species still outbreaks irregularly, resulting in significant harm to forage resources.

Outbreak media coverage

Name Year published Resource link Descriptive keyword Language Geographic purview Author Year published
Drought puts Alberta farmers at risk of another scourge of grasshoppers 2024 View URL Media article, Locust outbreaks, Locusts, Outbreaks, Crop health, Agriculture, Forecasting English Canada 2024



Associated organizations

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Resources

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References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Pfadt RE (2002) Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers, 3rd edition. Laramie, WY: Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 912, modified by S. Schell and S. Schell for electronic publication. Accessed 19 February 2020. https://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/field-guide/
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Vickery VR and Kevan DKM (1985) The grasshopper, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions. Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario. Publication Number 1777. 918 pp. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/aac-aafc/agrhist/A42-42-1985-14-eng.pdf
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gurney AB and Brooks AR (1959) Grasshoppers of the mexicanus group, genus Melanoplus (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 110: 1-93. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/16675/USNMP-110_3416_1959.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1
  4. Kreasky JB (1960) Extended diapause in eggs of high-altitude species of grasshoppers, and a note on food-plant preferences of Melanoplus bruneri. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 53: 436-438.
  5. Hansen RM and Ueckert DN (1970) Dietary similarity of some primary consumers. Ecology 51: 640-648.
  6. Beirne BP (1972) Pest insects of annual crop plants in Canada. IV. Hemiptera-Homoptera, V. Orthoptera, VI. Other groups. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada. 84: 1-73.
  7. Treherne RC and Buckell ER (1924) The grasshoppers of British Columbia with particular reference to the influence of injurious species on the range lands of the province. Bulletin of the Canada Department of Agriculture. (n.s.) 39: 1-47. https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.814561/publication.html