Melanoplus lilianae
Identification 1
This species is probably indistinguishable from M. viridipes without examining the internal male genitalia. It was only recognized as a species in 2002.
If you compare the descriptions of M. viridipes and M. lilianae carefully in Otte (2002), there is a difference in sternite 9. In M. lilianae, it is "pale at the median base" whereas in M. viridipes it is "black at base at midline." Probably more is needed to determine if this is a reliable identification characteristic, but it could an interesting thing to look for.
In Iowa, this species and M. viridipes should probably be labeled as "M. viridipes complex" in iNaturalist, but I'm fine just leaving them all M. viridipes until more research is done on distribution and identification of these two species.
Resources 1
The journal article describing this species is Open Access:
Otte, D., 2002. Studies of Melanoplus. 1. Review of the viridipes group (Acrididae: Melanoplinae). Journal of Orthoptera Research, pp.91-118. https://doi.org/10.1665/1082-6467(2002)011[0091:SOMROT]2.0.CO;2
Occurrence 1
Otte (2002) found museum specimens from only 4 counties in Iowa: Cedar, Clayton, Iowa, and Johnson. Three of these counties are in central eastern Iowa. Perhaps this is the core of their range, or perhaps this is where most sampling occurred. Most records of M. viridipes are north of these three counties, perhaps indicating some separation in distribution between the species.
Habitat 1
Presumably as for M. viridipes: near or on the ground in forest openings or forest edges.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
