is this a new species - Melanoplus punctulatus - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Grasshoppers (Caelifera) » Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae) » Spur-throated Grasshoppers (Melanoplinae) » Melanoplini » Melanoplus » Pine Tree Spur-throat Grasshopper (Melanoplus punctulatus)

Photo#341445

Copyright © 2009 lunarblue

is this a new species - Melanoplus punctulatus -

Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA
October 7, 2009
Size: 2 to 3 inches

I have never seen a grasshopper with a tail this long before. What is this

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Contributed by lunarblue on 8 October, 2009 - 3:30am
Last updated 14 September, 2013 - 11:03pm

This is a good illustration

of not only a probable fungus infection, but of how long a [nearly] fully extended female will be when it is depositing eggs in the ground (or perhaps rotted wood or something else).

Moved from Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids.

… David J. Ferguson, 25 October, 2009 - 7:20pm

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Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… v belov, 22 October, 2009 - 8:58am

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Female

This is a female of Melanoplus punctulatus. I'd bet she is infected with a fungus that is about to cause her distended abdomen to liberate spores. Grasshoppers found clinging to very exposed, elevated perches usually indicate this fungal disease.

… Eric R. Eaton, 8 October, 2009 - 8:01am

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is it spreadable

what type of fungus, and can we get it. I did not touch it, but just curious as to wether or not it is somethingg that effects humans

… lunarblue, 12 October, 2009 - 1:36am

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Fungus

The fungus belongs to the Entomophaga grylli species complex, which is grasshopper-specific. It disperses by compelling grasshoppers to climb up objects and cling there until they die, at which point the spores are released. New grasshoppers are infected when spores land on them. There are many other types of fungi with similar life histories, each with a fairly narrow host range, and none of which can affect humans or other vertebrates as far as I know. Example images are collected here.

… Charley Eiseman, 25 October, 2009 - 9:21pm

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