Explanation of Names
MONSTROSA: like a monster; very large and abnormally shaped or hideous (this species is the largest of the 3 in North America)
Numbers
one of three species in this genus in North America; uncommon in appropriate habitat
Identification
male dark gray dorsally, pale whitish ventrally, with short wings humped up and wrinkled like a loosely-folded blanked heaped on the insect's back; male subgenital plate with a ventrally-directed process shaped like the nail-pulling claw of a hammer
female either lacks wings or has them reduced to small stubs
Range
southern British Columbia and Alberta, south to northern California and southern Idaho (see
distribution map)
Habitat
coniferous forests containing Lodgepole Pine, Englemann Spruce, and Mountain Hemlock; adults hide beneath leaf litter during the day, and become active at night, climbing tree trunks and continuing high into the branches to feed, sing (males), and mate
Season
adults from June to August
Food
staminate flowers of coniferous trees, and flower parts & pollen of broadleaved shrubs; sometimes eats fruit and small insects
Life Cycle
overwinters as a late-instar nymph or young adult in burrow in ground; one generation per year
Remarks
males stridulate to attract females or to announce territory; males also have fierce fights over territory and/or females
See Also
compare
C. buckelli (whose male lacks a ventrally-directed process on the subgenital plate), and
C. strepitans (which doesn't occur in Canada)
Internet References
live, pinned, and illustrated adult images plus distribution map, description, habitat, behavior, and common name reference [Great Grig] (Singing Insects of North America, U. of Florida)
live adult image plus description, habitat, distribution, behavior (Oregon State U.)
biology and behavior (D.K. Morris
et al, U. of Toronto)
closeup image of serrated file on male wing and common name reference [Monster Haglid] (Cornell U.)
