Category Archives: Orthoptera

Grasshoppers, locusts, katydids, & crickets. About 20,000 species worldwide. Adults and nymphs of all species phytophagous, with saltatorial hind legs.

Saltatorial sidetracks

One thing I’ve realized during these past several years of fall collecting is that there are more than just tiger beetles to capture my interest as the field season enters its final days.  The late season floral burst of goldenrods … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

What’s more difficult to see…

…than a Trimerotropis latifasciata (broad-banded grasshopper) adult on lichen-encrusted clay exposures? Answer: A T. latifasciata nymph on lichen-encrusted clay exposures. My thanks to David J. Ferguson for confirming my initial ID as a species of Trimerotropis and provisionally placing these individuals as T. … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

The joys of ecological restoration

The daily rewards of restoration, to the practicing ecological restorationist and to those who visit his or her work, are many. Continue reading

Posted in Formicidae, Gentianaceae, Hymenoptera, Liliaceae, Orchidaceae, Orthoptera, Plantae, Primulaceae, Tettigoniidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Long Weekend Bug Collecting Trip!

On Saturday, I’ll be joining a number of other Missouri biologists as a Group Leader for a BioBlitz at Penn-Sylvania Prairie (“C” on the map above).  Penn-Sylvania Prairie is a 160-acre tract of native tallgrass prairie in southwestern Missouri owned by … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Buprestidae, Coleoptera, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Tuesday Teaser

A recent post by Art Evans at What’s Bugging You reminded me about this photograph that I took some 10 years ago.  This will likely be a difficult challenge, but I’m willing to entertain guesses about its identity and where I found … Continue reading

Posted in Anostostomatidae, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

The Loess Hills in Missouri

The term Mountains in Miniature is the most expressive one to describe these bluffs. They have all the irregularity in shape, and in valleys that mountains have, they have no rocks and rarely timber. – Thaddeus Culbertson, missionary, 1852 One … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Agavaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Fabaceae, Orthoptera, Poaceae, Scarabaeidae, Scrophulariaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments