White-whiskered grasshopper
Ageneotettix deorum
Identification 4
Small grasshopper with white or whitish antenna and dark knee joints. Often has two slight stripes on pronotum that bend toward the midline, but other species also have these lines. Hind tibia orange to red. An unusual character that all sources point out is a black triangular mark on top of the femur - not on the inner or outer face, but on top. There are 3 dark marks on top of the femur, but only central one is noticeably triangular.
Resources 4
Grasshoppers of the Western U.S.: http://idtools.org/id/grasshoppers/factsheet.php?name=13156
Capinera, J.L., R.D. Scott, and T.J. Walker. 2004. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. Cornell University Press.
Otte, D., 1981. The North American Grasshoppers, Vol. I. Acrididae: Gomphocerinae and Acridinae. Harvard University Press.
Occurrence 4
Could be encountered throughout the state. Knutson (1937) reported it from 28 counties. Most records in iNaturalist and Insects of Iowa are from the Eddyville Sand parks. I found this species to be very common there in sandy areas with short vegetation.
Habitat 4
Bare patches of ground in short dry grasslands, sandy areas, etc.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Angela Laws, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Angela Laws
- (c) Sam Kieschnick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Sam Kieschnick
- (c) Mathew Zappa, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Mathew Zappa
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
