Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper
Melanoplus rileyanus
This record describes Melanoplus rileyanus (species). Recorded family: Acrididae. Recorded order: Orthoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Usually contrastingly colored light brown or grayish with dark nearly black bar extending back from eyes and down sides of abdomen. With tegmina short oval, sometimes bluntly pointed apically, usually touching or nearly so over the back, and strongly bicolored with upper/inner half pale and lower/outer half very dark. Hind tibiae blue(ish). Inner face of hind femur tan or yellowish (sometimes reddish below) cross-banded blackish; outer face often strongly diagonally cross-banded with blackish or dark brown. Male cerci are wide, roughly oval, with a lobe on the upper edge near tip that twists inward toward its counterpart on the other side. Similar to M. lakinus , but that species has longer overlapping wings, and is not in California (further east). M. aspasmus usually plainer in color, with cerci a bit narrower and with lobe longer (often about half the length of cercus) and at apex instead of upper edge. Found further north along Coast Ranges between Pacific and Central Valley, north from San Luis Obispo County. Has tegmina (always?) rounded apically and not touching over back. Intermediates should be watched for in S.L.O. and perhaps adjacent Santa Barbara Counties where Transverse Ranges meet Coast Ranges. M. platycercus is similar, but cerci are wider with lobe on top smaller; subgenital plate is shorter. Found in Southern Sierra Nevada roughly in Mount Whitney region. Tip of male abdomen
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
- Suborder
- Caelifera
- Family
- Acrididae (Short-horned Grasshoppers)
- Subfamily
- Melanoplinae
- Tribe
- Melanoplini
- Genus
- Melanoplus
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Central Sierra Nevada in Tahoe region (ssp. rileyanus ), and Transverse Ranges in southern California (ssp. varicus . The two subspecies differ little, except the lobe of the cerci is often somewhat less strongly twisted inward in southern populations. Geography is the primary distinction.
About Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids: the wider group
Order-level background for Orthoptera, the group containing Melanoplus rileyanus. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Orthoptera includes ~28,000 described species of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Desert locusts can form swarms covering 460 square miles containing up to 80 million individuals per square kilometer.
Ecological role of the group
Grasshoppers and crickets are a primary food source for birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Cricket farming is a growing industry - crickets require 12× less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein, using 2,000× less water.
Economic and practical significance of the group
A single large locust swarm can consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. The 2019-2021 East Africa locust crisis affected food security for 42 million people across multiple countries. Global crop losses from locusts can reach billions annually.
Recorded sources for this group: FAO, UN World Food Programme, research publications. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
Photos of Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by David J. Ferguson; Additional contributions by Tyler Hedlund
Frequently Asked Questions About Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper
What is Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper?
Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper (Melanoplus rileyanus) is a species in the family Acrididae, within the order Orthoptera.
How do you identify Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper?
Usually contrastingly colored light brown or grayish with dark nearly black bar extending back from eyes and down sides of abdomen. With tegmina short oval, sometimes bluntly pointed apically, usually touching or nearly so over the back, and strongly bicolored with upper/inner half pale and lower/outer half very dark. Hind tibiae blue(ish). Inner face of hind femur tan or yellowish (sometimes reddish below) cross-banded blackish; outer face often strongly diagonally cross-banded with blackish or dark brown. Male cerci are wide, roughly oval, with a lobe on the upper edge near tip that twists inward toward its counterpart on the other side. Similar to M. lakinus , but that species has longer overlapping wings, and is not in California (further east). M. aspasmus usually plainer in color, with cerci a bit narrower and with lobe longer (often about half the length of cercus) and at apex instead of upper edge. Found further north along Coast Ranges between Pacific and Central Valley, north from San Luis Obispo County. Has tegmina (always?) rounded apically and not touching over back. Intermediates should be watched for in S.L.O. and perhaps adjacent Santa Barbara Counties where Transverse Ranges meet Coast Ranges. M. platycercus is similar, but cerci are wider with lobe on top smaller; subgenital plate is shorter. Found in Southern Sierra Nevada roughly in Mount Whitney region. Tip of male abdomen
Where is Riley's Short-wing Grasshopper found?
Range: Central Sierra Nevada in Tahoe region (ssp. rileyanus ), and Transverse Ranges in southern California (ssp. varicus . The two subspecies differ little, except the lobe of the cerci is often somewhat less strongly twisted inward in southern populations. Geography is the primary distinction.