Boll's Grasshopper (Orthoptera of Iowa)

Boll's Grasshopper

Spharagemon bolli

Identification ⁶

On first glance, not many distinguishing characters. Could be confused with Arphia species or other Spharagemon species. Two other Spharagemon species occur in Iowa. In S. bolli, the pronotum is cut once, like the Carolina Grasshopper. In contrast, Arphia species have a very subtle cut or no cut in the pronotum. The median carina of the pronotum forms a sharp crest in S. bolli, a higher crest than in S. equale, but a lower crest than S. collare. Hindwings have a relatively small yellow base, a black band, and clear tip. Hind tibiae are orange to red toward the distal end (towards the feet) and black and ivory/yellowish basally. Arphia species do not have orange or red hind tibia. S. collare does not have a black band on the hind tibiae; the entire hind tibiae are orange. Generally, the Mottled Collared Grasshopper (Spharagemon collare) will be more mottled and Say's Grasshopper (Spharagemon equale) will have more distinct bands on the wings, but photos of the pronotum in profile and hind tibiae will help cement the identification.

Males crepitate often, which could help locate this species.

Resources ⁶

The BugGuide genus page is more helpful than the species page: https://bugguide.net/node/view/9546

Otte, D., 1984. The North American Grasshoppers, Vol. II. Acrididae. Oedipodinae. Harvard University Press.

Capinera, J.L., R.D. Scott, and T.J. Walker. 2004. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. Cornell University Press.

Occurrence ⁶

This is an eastern U.S. species that presumably occurs throughout Iowa, but is rarely reported. Knutson (1937) reported it from 17 counties. SCAN has 17 records, but BugGuide and iNaturalist have 1 record each.