Brachystola magna

Brachystola magna, one of the grasshoppers known as plains lubber or western lubber, is a large grasshopper[2] native to southern and central USA and Northern Mexico.[3]

Brachystola magna
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Orthoptera
Family:
Romaleidae
Genus:
Brachystola
Species:
B. magna
Binomial name
Brachystola magna
(Girard, 1854) [1]

It is reddish brown with black dots on its outer wings, however there is some variation in colouration, with more northern races being greener, and southern ones more buff. The Brachystola magna has extremely small wings and is unable to fly.[4] The antennae are bluish-brown and the legs are reddish near the body with purple tarsi. It has a ridge along the upper and middle region of the abdomen. It is distinguished from Brachystola virescens by its longer antennae and colour.[1]

In Wyoming it is found on gravelly ground in the southwest of the state. It does not cause significant damage to crops, and seems to prefer coarse broadleaved plants to crops. It overwinters in the egg, which hatch in the spring and reach adulthood in August.[5]

Walter Sutton's description of reduction division was based on studying the spermatocytes of Brachystola magna. This work was critical in the development of the chromosome theory of inheritance.

References
  1. Girard, Charles (1854). "Appendix F". In Randolf Marcy (ed.). Exploration of The Red River of Louisiana in the Year 1852. Washington: A.O.P Nicholson. p. 231. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. "species Brachystola magna (Girard, 1854): Orthoptera Species File". Orthoptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0).
  3. "Distribution".
  4. Joern, Anthony. Importance of Behavior and Coloration in the Control of Body Temperature by Brachystola Magna Girad. The School of Life Sciences, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA, March 1981. Retrieved on 17 October 2019.
  5. "Western Lubber Grasshopper". Grasshoppers of Wyoming and the West. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.


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