Hesperotettix speciosus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) new record for Sumter County, Alabama, United States

Monday, November 11, 2024

8:00 AM – 8:12 AM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 C, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Shelby M. Grice (she/her/hers)

Laboratory Technician
Mississippi State University, Mississippi

Co-Author(s)

JH

JoVonn Hill

Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi

Inventories of the flora and insect fauna of the Black Belt Prairie of Mississippi and Alabama have documented disjunct populations of species broadly distributed in the Great Plains, including two grasshopper species. During a recent survey of a large privately-owned prairie remnant in Sumter Co., Alabama we documented a disjunct population of a third grasshopper species — Hesperotettix speciosus, extending the known distribution of this species significantly eastward. The discovery of this population is surprising due to the number of previous survey efforts of the Black Belt, Alabama, and Mississippi overall and exemplifies the importance of conservation on private lands.