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Grasshoppers of Zihuatanejo

INFRAORDER ACRIDIDEA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids (Order Orthoptera)

-Grasshoppers, Locusts, and Allies (Suborder Caelifera)

-Grasshoppers (Infraorder Acrididea)

-Short-horned Grasshoppers and Locusts (Superfamily Acridoidea)

-Short-horned Grasshoppers (Family Acrididae)

-Subfamily Proctolabinae

-Tribe Proctolabini

-Subtribe Proctolabina

-Genus Proctolabus


Grasshoppers in the genus Proctolabus are, medium-sized insects belonging to the family Acrididae, primarily native to the tropical and subtropical forests of Mexico and Central America. Members of this genus are typically found in the dense understory of humid forests, where they are specialized herbivores feeding on a variety of broad-leaved plants. One of the most distinctive anatomical features of Proctolabus is the enlarged, bulbous tip of the male's abdomen, a trait that gives the genus its name.

Proctolabus Short-horned Grasshoppers

Proctolabus (Genus)

Description

  • Proctolabus is a genus of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae and subfamily Proctolabinae. Species are generally medium-sized and rather robust, with thickened fore and middle femora, strongly compressed hind femora, and either shortened or fully developed wings. Colouration is often subdued and variable, with brown, grey, greenish, or mottled patterns that provide camouflage among vegetation.

Range

  • Proctolabus is distributed from northwestern Mexico south through much of Mexico and into Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In Mexico it occurs in Guerrero as well as several other western and southern states, making the genus relevant to the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

  • These grasshoppers inhabit warm terrestrial environments, particularly tropical and subtropical forest, woodland, scrub, forest edges, and clearings with abundant low vegetation. They are generally associated with vegetation close to the ground and may occur in both relatively undisturbed forest and suitable disturbed habitats.

Diet

  • Proctolabus species are primarily herbivorous, feeding on grasses, leaves, and other green plant material. Their diet is likely to include a range of locally available herbaceous plants and foliage rather than being restricted to a single plant species.

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