Characterization of cellulolytic activity from digestive fluids of Dissosteira carolina (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Prospecting for cellulolytic activity in insect digestive fluids.

Efficient cellulolytic enzymes are needed to degrade recalcitrant plant biomass during ethanol purification and make lignocellulosic biofuels a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels. Despite the large number of insect species that feed on lignocellulosic material, limited availability of quantitative studies comparing cellulase activity among insect taxa constrains identification of candid...

Discrimination of grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) diet and niche overlap using next-generation sequencing of gut contents

Species of grasshopper have been divided into three diet classifications based on mandible morphology: forbivorous (specialist on forbs), graminivorous (specialist on grasses), and mixed feeding (broad-scale generalists). For example, Melanoplus bivittatus and Dissosteira carolina are presumed to be broad-scale generalists, Chortophaga viridifasciata is a specialist on grasses, and Melanoplus f...

Susceptibility to Disease Across Developmental Stages: Examining the Effects of an Entomopathogen on a Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Pest

New and interesting Orthoptera from the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra

This paper reports on some interesting taxa recently found in the Arabian Peninsula and the island of Socotra. Among them is a new species of brachypterous grasshopper Sphodromerus carapezzanussp. n. (Acrididae: Calliptaminae), described from an isolated area in Dhofar (Oman). A female Heteracris hemiptera (Uvarov, 1935) (Acrididae: Eyprepocnemidinae) is reported, with morphological characters ...

Studies in Guatemalan Caelifera: New grasshoppers and monkey grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acridoidea & Eumastacoidea) and an updated checklist.

We describe six species of Acridomorpha, Orthoptera from Guatemala: Paralethus rowelli n. sp., Paralethus cerezoi n. sp., Episactus schusteri n. sp. (Episactidae: Episactinae), Pararhicnoderma eniocanoi n. sp. (Romaleidae: Bactrophorinae), Tela neumanni n. sp. and Leioscapheus faustinoi n. sp. (Acrididae: Proctolabinae). four genera and five species are recorded for Guatemala and, at the same t...