Grasshopper - Trimerotropis albescens

I'm looking at it again,

and it still looks like T. albescens to me. I think the pronotum is flared out, but it is hard to see in the shot from above because the lower part of the pronotum furthest from the camera (where the flare is) is out of focus. In the side shot it looks just like typical T. albescens. And, those huge eyes, the antennae, wing pattern, the tiny size, etc., all seem to fit. Without having the critter in hand it's hard to be positive, but it doesn't look nearly as much like T. inconspicua. Also, T. albescens is really common all along the east base of the Sierra Nevada / west side of the Owens / Mono Valleys. I don't think (?) T. inconspicua is on that side of the valley at all.

… David J. Ferguson, 10 October, 2017 - 9:48am

I had T. inconspicua in the both Benton and the Bishop area on the western side. I didn't see a size difference between any of the T. inconspicua or T. albescens I had. Both species were really small.

The T. inconspicua I had in the eastern Sierras were a lot harder for me to tell apart from T. albescens than those I saw in western Arizona. Yours from Utah look really distinct from T. albescens as well.

… Alice Abela, 10 October, 2017 - 10:08am

Moved

Moved from Inyo Grasshopper.

… James Bailey, 15 September, 2016 - 4:39pm

Moved

Moved from McNeill's White Grasshopper.

… James Bailey, 25 September, 2015 - 6:32pm

What I told you started to bother me, I think I mislead you.

Even though the flairing at the sides of the pronotum doesn't really show in your photos, I think he really is there, and that this is T. albescens. For one thing, when I started looking at the proportions of the pronotum, it seems to short in proportion to width; also the really big eyes; wing band is narrower than usual for T. inconspicua, and then there is the gestalt thing. They are very similar bugs.

Moved from Inconspicuous Grasshopper.

… David J. Ferguson, 8 September, 2015 - 9:34am

Thanks David

"I suppose that far to the east, I would go with T. inconspicua" was the sentence that I looked at, and then you seemed to support by comparing other species and their differences.

The pronotal lobes would be what I call flared, but I guess it's all relatively speaking.

… James Bailey, 8 September, 2015 - 9:53am

I had convinced myself too,

but I came back later, and realized I had been wrong.

I see some bloopers in that last comment I made. No way to fix them now - I think I really should have gotten more sleep the night before looking at this critter - both times. :0)

… David J. Ferguson, 8 September, 2015 - 3:35pm

More input on this grasshopper from email contact

"The grasshopper is most similar to Trimerotropis inyo. I have something similar from the Lone Pine area and that was my determination. Whatever it is it's not T. albescens. "

… James Bailey, 9 September, 2015 - 12:27am

I'll reserve judgement for now

I'm not sure it is really T. inyo either. Mine from nearby Rock Creek Canyon bothers me too. Similar to this one in structure, but coloration is quite different.

… David J. Ferguson, 28 September, 2015 - 10:06am

Moved

Moved from Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids.

… James Bailey, 7 September, 2015 - 11:34am

Thinking T. inconspicua...

I've had a terrible time with these too. I'm inclined towards a pale T. inconspicua given the pronotum not flaring and being relatively smooth and lack of dark markings on the face and pronotum. My nearest observations to this area all ended up being T. inconspicua as well.

… Alice Abela, 10 October, 2017 - 2:26am

On that white gravel that dominates the area I suspect?

I suppose that far to the east, I would go with T. inconspicua, but it's close to T. bifasciata country as well. I tend to go with inconspicua east of the Sierra Nevada, and bifasciata west, but there is really no obvious division between them in structure or behavior. On top of the San Bernardino's I've called them T. bifasciata, but there are records up there for T. incospicua.

Up on the steap slopes of the east side of the Sierra Nevada there is also T. inyo / S. bunites with proportionately smaller heads and slightly larger average size (also similar to T. occidentalis) )[I. suspect that inyo and bunites are descriptions of the same insect, but I haven't found any at the T.L. of bunites yet - bad timing - in fact now might be good.] T. inyo is described as having greenish wings, but that's a real stretch. They are yellow with just the faintest hint of green in the veins near the base (and you really have to look closely to see it in most specimens).

T. albescens is common in that area too, and looks similar, but runs a tad smaller on average, and pronotal lobes flared out at the lower rear angle (as far as I can see, they don't on this one ?). The two sound pretty similar when they fly (continuous buzz), but I think the pitch is a bit deeper for T. inconspicua. T. albescens blends into T. arenacea in that area, and there is no way to easily divide them. On sand they tend to match the sand in light browns and grays, and on that white gravel and rock they tend to be white with contrasting dark (often black) markings.

… David J. Ferguson, 7 September, 2015 - 10:45am

Yes, on white gravel

I was hoping to catch more of them but, well...

There wasn't any clear variation in these at least when they were on the ground though. Some were a little browner overall or had darker bands on the forewings, but much the same.

… James Bailey, 7 September, 2015 - 11:33am