A Guide to Australian Grasshoppers & Locusts

This book provides the user with the means to identify adults and nymphs of a little less than half the 750 known species of Australian grasshoppers in two families (Pyrgomorphidae and Acrididae) using equipment no more technical than a 10x hand lens. Easy-to-understand diagrams illustrate the morphological structures necessary to make determinations and technical terms are kept to a minimum.

The introduction provides details on grasshopper habits, biology, habitats, collecting, rearing, preserving as well as an illustrated key to the major groups. The body comprises photographs of the grasshoppers in nature and characteristic structural features necessary for identification. Concise notes on habitats and related species, literature references when available, and a distribution map should provide a simple identification. Appendices contain a glossary, details on grasshopper photography and organisations one can contact for further study. A classification scheme will prove useful in arranging collections and understanding the relationships of species to one another. A bibliography lists all relevant literature references on Australian grasshoppers.

• Dedication v
• Foreword vi
• Preface ix
• Acknowledgement ix
• Introduction 1
• – How to use this Book 1
• – Dynamics of Grasshoppers 2
• – Nymphs 2
• – Is the Grasshopper an Adult or Nymph? 3
• – Eggs 4
• – Male or Female 5
• Grasshoppers in the Australian habitat 7
• The work of the Australian Plague Locust Commission 13
• Collecting, Preserving and Bearing Grasshoppers 19
• – Collecting 19
• – Collecting at Light 20
• – Killing the Catch 20
• – Dealing with the Catch 22
• – Rearing Grasshoppers 23
• The External Anatomy of Grasshoppers 23
• – Head 24
• – Thorax 25
• – Legs 26
• – Wings 27
• – Abdomen 29
• Classification of Grasshoppers and Locusts 31
• Grasshoppers Identification 31
• – How to Identify a Grasshooper 31
• – Identification 32
• Pyrgomorphidae 35
• – Acrididae: Oxyinae 61
• – Acrididae: Catantopinae 85
• – Acrididae: Acrididae 343
• Nymphs 369
• Bibliography 397
• Appendices 399
• – Glossary 399
• – About the photography 402
• – Where you can learn more about Grasshoppers and Locusts 403
• – Systematic List of Australian Grasshoppers 404
• Index of Common Names 410
• Index of Scientific Names 415