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Photo#63408
Hopper ID - probably Melanoplus sanguinipes - looks a lot like - Melanoplus - female

Hopper ID - probably Melanoplus sanguinipes - looks a lot like - Melanoplus - Female
Lakewood, Oconto County, Wisconsin, USA
July 12, 2006
Could someone tell me what type this is please...Is this some type of Spur-Throated Grasshopper

Moved
Moved from Rocky Mountain Locust.
See comments below. The placement of this record under spretus is, I feel, confusing, and it is showing up under that species at GBIF. I will put a thumbnail image of this photo under the guide page for spretus as an illustration of that species' appearance.

Just a note
Because this is under Melanoplus spretus, it's currently going to GBIF as such: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1846864600

Maybe this record needs to be excluded from the GBIF export process?

 
Agreed...
I don't know of a way to exclude this image from the GBIF export process. Maybe somebody else does.
I'm going to go ahead and move this up to genus level, as the placement under Melanoplus spretus is misleading. I'll post a thumbnail of this image on the guide page for spretus, but that will not be picked up by GBIF.

I am putting this under this heading
for Melanoplus spretus with the qualification that it is most likely not this species, but rather a long-winged individual of M. sanguinipes. However, it looks like the Rocky Mountain Locust, and is the sort of insect that one should be looking for if the species is to ever be found alive and well again. There is also the chance that this really is M. spretus, in which case this location would be of great interest to a number of entomologists. Males can be distinguished with certainty by examining the hidden parts of the genitalia, but I'm not sure if females can be distinguished with certainty, and almost certainly not from a photo alone.

However, the coloration, the very long wings, and the shape of the pronotum shown by this specimen are all rather close to what should be expected for the "Rocky Mountain Locust", and together are rather uncharacteristic for the average M. sanguinipes.

I think this image will serve more purpose here than hiding within the mass of unidentified Melanoplus photos.

Moved from Melanoplus.

 
another way to do this
A suggestion: it would be more accurate, perhaps, to leave this image under Melanoplus but to put a thumbnail of it in the guide page (under identification) for spretus. That way the image will appear on the guide page, but not be declared to be this species.

Just a suggestion--it is no big deal.
I have found a few more old illustrations of spretus and will be adding them to the guide as well. (I've never seen one in color--if you have, let me know the source.)

 
Check out the photo
linked to above that appears in Discover Magazine. There are certainly specimens in many collections, particularly institutional, and it amazes me just how few published photos there are. Photos of living specimens are particularly rare, and I doubt a colored one was ever taken (?).

very interesting - ??? Melanoplus spretus female ???
I have hesitated to comment, because I've never seen a living specimen that looks like this one, only dead ones in collections. However, I think this comment might be worth while. Being female, I'm not 100% sure which species this is, but it is probably M. sanguinipes. However, it REALLY LOOKS like Melanoplus spretus, which is supposedly extinct (I've never been entirely convenced that it truly is). This is definitely is worth some more attention by experts. It would certainly be worth looking at more individuals from this location.
Compare with this one in Discover Magazine

Yes.
This is a female Melanoplus, impossible to ID further (must examine the male organs).

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