Huron Grasshopper

Melanoplus huroni

General Status Rank: 
Undetermined
ELCODE: 
IIORT01180
Common Name: 
Huron Grasshopper
Scientific Name: 
Melanoplus huroni
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Taxonomy
Group: 
Grasshopper
Kingdom: 
Animalia
Phylum: 
Arthropoda
Class: 
Insecta
Order: 
Orthoptera
Family: 
Acrididae
Habitat
NWT occurrence in open, prairie-like glade in jack pine parkland. The area includes prairie glades with disjunct plants and animals from the Canadian prairie region far to the south as well as some elements from unglaciated Beringia to the northwest. The dominant plants here included cut-leaved anemone (Anemone multifida Poiret), common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Linnaeus) Sprengel), purple reedgrass (Calamagrostis purpurascens R. Brown), downy lymegrass (Elymus innovatus (Beal) Pilger), and northern bedstraw (Galium boreale Linnaeus). Among the grasshoppers, speckle-winged rangeland grasshopper (Arphia conspersa Scudder 1875) of the Canadian prairies and unglaciated Beringia, shares this unusual habitat in the NWT (Catling et al. 2020).
Distribution

Distribution

Only one known location (Catling 2008), but full range extent likely larger. The NWT occurrence is approximately 675 km north of the nearest location in the Peace River prairies of Alberta. Occurs in largely isolated patches of northern prairie. Likely absent from forested areas between this new location and previous northernmost records. Likely to be found in other prairies of the Great Slave Lake region (Catling et al. 2020).
Score: 
AF

Number of Occurrences

Only one known occurrence (Catling 2008), but more are likely. Occurrence on highway 3, south of Behchoko (2019). Although only recently recorded in the NWT, the species is likely long established in the NWT but were overlooked as a consequence of their local occurrence and limited search effort (Catling et al. 2020).
Score: 
AD

Historical Distribution

Another likely relict of the Picea parkland in front of the Wisconsin ice sheet, this species occurs largely in the Great Lakes region, the northern edges of the prairie parklands, and the parkland mountain slopes. It is not known north of Fort St. John on the Peace River in British Columbia.
References: 
R202

Area of Occupancy

Score: 
-
Threats

Threats

Score: 
-

Intrinsic Vulnerability

Score: 
-
General Status Rank
Rank: 
Undetermined
S Rank: 
SU
Decision Process Description: 
Draft rank by non-expert (S. Carriere) based on Catling (2008) only (2010). Reviewed by S. Carriere and modified from Presence Expected to Undetermined with species confirmed in the NWT (Catling et al. 2020). Reviewed by J. Miskelly in 2023 who recommended a rank change to Sensitive; however, modifications to the scores were applied and Undetermined was retained (C. Singer, 2024).
Last Updated: 
July 9, 2024
Status Designations

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

COSEWIC Status: 
-

References

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