Two-striped Grasshopper

Melanoplus bivittatus

General Status Rank: 
May Be At Risk
ELCODE: 
IIORT01090
Common Name: 
Two-striped Grasshopper
Scientific Name: 
Melanoplus bivittatus
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Taxonomy
Group: 
Grasshopper
Kingdom: 
Animalia
Phylum: 
Arthropoda
Class: 
Insecta
Order: 
Orthoptera
Family: 
Acrididae
Habitat
It is an omnivorous species but feeds mainly on plants and more on forbs than grasses and shrubs. NWT Slave River sites were in native prairies (Catling et al. 2018b) dominated by either graminoids, such as wheat sedge (Carex atherodes Sprengel), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis L.), and/or reedgrasses (Calamagrostis spp.), or by forbs including bienniel ragwort (Artemisia biennis Willdenow), yellow avens (Geum aleppicum Jacquin), blue lettuce (Mulgedium pulchellum (Pursh) G. Don), silverweed (Potentilla anserina L.), and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wiggers). A drier site was dominated by clustered field sedge (Carex praegracilis W. Boott), balsam groundsel (Packera paupercula (Michaux) A. Love & D. Love), and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Reference: Catling, P.M., Armstrong, T., & Kostiuk, B. 2018b. A brief floristic reconnaissance of prairies occupied by wood bison in the Slave River Lowlands north of Fort Smith. Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NWT.
References: 
R202
Distribution

Distribution

Species currently known only from lower Slave River (Catling 2020); true range may be larger. The first locations in the NWT for this large grasshopper are 425 km to the north-northwest of the nearest site to the south at Fort McMurray, Alberta. This species was less common at these sites, relative to red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus fumurrubrum DeGeer, 1773).
Score: 
DE

Number of Occurrences

Only two known occurrences, one at Grande Detour Prairie and the other at Kim's Bison Prairie. Approximately 50 individuals of this species were confirmed at each of these sites. More occurrences are likely (Catling 2020). Reference: Catling, P.M., Kostiuk, B., & Armstrong, T. 2020. New records of grasshoppers (Orthoptera) from the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 134(3): 213-216.
Score: 
AC

Historical Distribution

This distinctively large grasshopper occurs north to Fort St. John in British Columbia and at Fort McMurray in Alberta. Although it tolerates a variety of conditions, it prefers moist sites and is a common roadside species over most of southern Canada.
References: 
R202

Area of Occupancy

Score: 
-
Threats

Threats

Score: 
-

Intrinsic Vulnerability

Score: 
-
General Status Rank
Rank: 
May Be At Risk
Status Rank Description: 
Records published in Catling (2020) indicate limited range and few occurrences. Reference: Catling, P.M., Kostiuk, B., & Armstrong, T. 2020. New records of grasshoppers (Orthoptera) from the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 134(3): 213-216.
S Rank: 
S1S3
Decision Process Description: 
Draft rank by non-expert (S. Carriere) based on Catling (2008) only (September 2010). Reviewed in 2019; modified from Presence Expected to Undetermined based on correspondence with B. Kostiuk and P. Catling. Reviewed in 2023; modified from Undetermined to May be at Risk although this reflects new information rather than a genuine change in status. Reference: Catling, P.M. 2008. Grasshoppers and related insects of Northwest Territories and adjacent areas. Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NWT.
Last Updated: 
July 9, 2024
Status Designations

Canada – Assessment by Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

COSEWIC Status: 
-

References

Habitat

  • Catling, P.M (2008) Grasshoppers and related insects of Northwest Territories and adjacent regions. Gov of the Northwest Territories, Envrionment and Natural Resources 77 pp. - R202 Return

Historical Distribution

  • Catling, P.M (2008) Grasshoppers and related insects of Northwest Territories and adjacent regions. Gov of the Northwest Territories, Envrionment and Natural Resources 77 pp. - R202 Return