Hi Chad,

This individual did not have the pale dorsal stripe and was found in pine flatwoods away from the river and wetter areas of the park.

According to my copy of "Grasshoppers of Florida" (1), p.119 (also by Capinera) S. alutacea is the "Rusty Birdwing"...has this species been re-ordered?

I'm not sure. I was wondering the same thing when I read your original post. In Capinera's "Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States," (1) S. alutacea is the (cumbersome) "Leather-colored Bird Grasshopper," while S. rubiginosa is the "Rusty Bird Grasshopper." From what I understand, "alutacea" literally means "yellow-colored, yellowish-tan, or like fine leather." And in latin, "rubiginsoa" signifies "rusty." But as far as the species' being reordered or renamed, I don't have any specific information.

Okay, let's go with "Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States" (1) as our guide as it was published in 2004. "Grasshoppers of Florida" (2) was published in 2001.

On page 144, it says:

"In the southern states, particularly the coastal plain, the similar rusty bird grasshopper, S. rubiginosa, is found. It has usually been treated as a sub-species of S. alutacea but likely warrants species level status. It more commonly frequents dry habitats and normally lacks the dorsal stripe...."

...and it goes on to show a key feature in differentiating the two based on the male cerci – and this looks to be a female pictured here.

Perhaps the best thing to do would be create a S. rubiginosa/alutacea complex since these features may be hard to capture in the field.

Eric has yet to chime in on this one, and he know hoppers pretty well. Let's see what he thinks:)