Orthoptera of North Carolina

Family (Alpha):

View	Acrididae Members:	NC Records
Stethophyma celatum Otte, 1979 - Otte's Sedge Grasshopper

Nymph

Taxonomy

Family: Acrididae	Subfamily: Oedipodinae	Tribe: Parapleurini
Comments: One of seven species in this genus, three of which occur in North America (Cigliano et al., 2017). Only S. celatum has been recorded in the Southeast.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Capinera et al. (2004; not illustrated and only briefly mentioned)	Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images, iNaturalist, GBIF	Technical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Blatchley (1920; as Mecosthethus platypterus); Otte (1981)
Comments: A medium-large, contrastingly marked grasshopper. The dorsal surface of the head, pronotum, and tegmina are pale tan, contrasting with the dark brown wings and a blackish to dark brown stripe running from the frontal costa in front of the eye and from the eye below the lateral carina of the pronotum. The face and sides of the pronotum are marked with yellow and green and the abdomen is bright yellow. The fore- and middle-legs are yellow-green but the hind femur is brown on the top and outer face and reddish on the underside; the joint between the hind femur and tibia is also conspicuously black.
Structural Features: The intercalary vein of the male tegmina has a series of stridulatory pegs, separating them from all other species in our area. The last ventral abdominal segment of the male is conical and twice as long as wide (Helfer, 1987).
Nymphal Stages and Development: Nymphs are two-toned, with the same pale tan dorsal stripe found in the adults, contrasting with the sides of the head, thorax and abdomen, all of which are blackish, as are the legs. The antennae are the same pale color as the dorsal stripe (Hall, pers. obs.).

Distribution in North Carolina


County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Adult Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: North Carolina records come from two types of habitat: Very Wet Clay Savannas in the Outer Coastal Plain and sedge meadow habitats associated with beaver ponds in the Fall-line Sandhills. Both types are very wet, although not permanently inundated. Sedges and other wetland graminoides are dominant.

Diet: Probably feeds mainly on sedges and other wetland graminoids. Often found near shrubs, which are used for escape from predators.

Observation Methods: Both nymphs and adults can be found during the day by walking through occupied habitats. Males, at least, try to escape by flying into or through shrubs but females -- which are harder to find -- appear to dive down into grass cover to escape (Blatchley, 1920). Stridulating males can be detected at some distance, at least under good conditions (Hall, pers. obs.).

Abundance/Frequency: Considered very local over most of its range, and usually seen in only small numbers where it occurs (Blatchley, 1920; Hebard, 1934). Hebard, however, noted that it can occasionally be locally abundant. In North Carolina, only small numbers have been observed at any one time.

Adult Phenology: Adults have only been recorded from late May to June in North Carolina. Searches made in occupied sites later in the season have not turned up any specimens.

See also Habitat Account for Wet, Clayey, Fire-maintained Herblands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status: SR

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 S1S2

State Protection: Listed as Significantly Rare in North Carolina by the Natural Heritage Program. It has no legal protection, however, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: This species has long been considered one of the rarest and least encountered grasshoppers in eastern North America (Blatchley, 1920; Hebard, 1934). Within its broad general range, encompassing the tall grass prairie region as well as the Atlantic Slope from Massachusetts to South Carolina, it appears to be highly disjunct. Particularly along the east coast, populations have only been recorded in Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Carolina and South Carolina. In North Carolina, where we have now documented five populations -- more than any other Atlantic state -- the majority are highly isolated, with only the two recorded at Fort Bragg possibly belonging to a metapopulation. In the case of the populations associated with Very Wet Clay Savannas, the habitats themselves are among the rarest and most localized found in North Carolina. Until recently, the same was true for the beaver sedge meadows occupied by the Fort Bragg populations. This case is interesting in that it suggests an explanation for the current rarity of the species despite its very wide range: like Mitchell’s Satyr, a species that co-occurs in some of the Fort Bragg sedge meadow habitats, S. celatum may be a relict from the time prior to about 150 years ago when beavers and the wetland habitats they create were one of the dominant biological features of the continent. When beavers were nearly extinguished at the end of the 19th Century – due to 200 years of overharvest for the fur trade -- this vast complex of ecosystems nearly collapsed along with them, leaving only isolated remnants behind, the streamhead wetlands at Fort Bragg being one of the most notable examples (Hall, 2003). Management efforts aimed at protecting and expanding populations of Neonympha mitchellii at Fort Bragg are likely to have beneficial effects on the populations of Stethophyma as well. For the much more isolated, and probably much smaller populations associated with Very Wet Clay Savannas in the Outer Coastal Plain, much more needs to be learned with respect to management. Use of prescribed burns helps keep the habitats open and graminoid-dominated but the direct effects on Stethophyma are not yet understood. The fact that at least one of the populations at Fort Bragg occurs within and artillery impact area is a positive indication that they can survive under a very high frequency fire regime. Nonetheless, we recommend taking a cautious approach similar to what has been recommended to protect Lepidopteran populations associated with fire-maintained habitats: always leave at least some unburned portions of habitat to serve as a refugium and recolonization source for re-expansion of the population following a fire. Beyond that, anything that can be done to re-create metapopulations of this species is likely to be critical if it is to survive in our state.

Image Gallery for Stethophyma celatum - Otte's Sedge Grasshopper
	Recorded by: Ed Corey Onslow Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ed Corey Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Pender Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Pender Co. Comment:	Recorded by: E. Corey Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: E. Corey, J. Beane, T. Pusser Onslow Co. Comment:	Recorded by: E. Corey Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Hoke Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Hoke Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall Hoke Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Brunswick Co. Comment:

Stethophyma celatum Otte, 1979 - Otte's Sedge Grasshopper

Image Gallery for Stethophyma celatum - Otte's Sedge Grasshopper