The GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST

Vol. 9,No. 2 Summer 1976

The Food-Habits and Biology of Acrididae in an Old-Field Community in Southeastern Michigan S. K. Gangwere, F. C. Evans, and M. L. Nelson THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST

Published by the Michigan Entomological Society Volume 9 No . 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE FOOD-HABITS AND BIOLOGY OF ACRIDIDAE IN AN OLD-FIELD COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN S. K . Gangwe1e.F . C. Evans. and M. L . Nelson INTRODUCTION ...... 83 THESTUDYAREA ...... 84 THEACRIDIDAE ...... 84 THEVEGETATION ...... 91 METHODSOFSTUDY ...... 98 RESULTS ...... 103 SUMMARIES OF FOOD-HABITS IN OLD FIELD ACRIDIDAE ...... 105 DISCUSSION ...... 113 SUMMARY ...... 117 APPENDIX ...... 118 REFERENCES ...... 121

COVER ILLUSTRATION

A male nigripes Scudder (: : ) clean- ing its antenna. Photograph taken at Ann Arbor. Michigan. by Emerson A . Frey . THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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Copyright @ 1976, The Michigan Entomological Society THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST

THE FOOD-HABITS AND BIOLOGY OF ACRIDIDAE IN Aq OLD-FIELD COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN

S. K. Gangwere, F. C. Evans, and M. L. el son*

Inasmuch as the earth supports a wide variety of terrestrial communities differing in size and species composition, and because no two of these communities are identical in terms of foods and feeders, a correspondingly great complexity of feeding relationships is to be expected. Consequently, food-habit studies must take cognizance of dynamic interplay among many factors which vary with place and time, including that between food availability and the food preferences of consumers. Although ecologists have developed some sophisticated models of the various feeding interactions (e.g., Holling, 1963, 1964, 1966), the number of species whose food-habits and preferences have been carefully studied is small. Further knowledge is needed, particularly of the feeding biology of organisms in specific, limited communities and ecosystems. The present report recognizes and is developed in accordance with these consider- ations. It deals with feeding in a particular group of insects, the Acrididae, that live in a particular community, Evans Old Field, E. S. George Reserve, Michigan. The Acrididae were chosen for study because they are comparatively large-bodied, readily visible insects with feeding habits that lend themselves to observation; they present, in southeastern Michigan, suitable numbers of species and individuals; they are important within many local ecosystems; and they have long been among the authors' main research interests (Gangwere, 1961). The Old Field was selected as the study site because it is biologically well-known (Evans, 1975); it is typical of abandoned fields in the region; and it is frequented by many Acrididae, insects that are characteristically associated with pastures, fields, and similar open situations. The field studies reported herein were carried out during the growing seasons of 1963, 1964, and 1965, and the laboratory studies since then. The data reported herein were amassed during the tenure of Basic Research Grant GB-1065 awarded to Wayne State University by the National Science Foundation during the years 1963-1965. As stated, the research was carried out at the E. S. George Reserve of the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University provided other facilities and services essential to the project. In addition, many individuals kindly assisted in one way or another. Included are L. G. Alder, W. A. Kaleva, M. Yacos, C. S. Chang, and G. E. Bence, all formerly of the Department of Biology, Wayne State University, who served as research assistants. Others include M. Bartell, W. J. Graham, P. Kennedy, R. Krauss, A. Lomnicki, W. Maclarney, L. H. Metzgar, W. W. Murdoch, J. Parrish, D. Webb, and G. Zug, formerly of the Department of Zoology, University of Michigan, and R. Ford, L. Gerhardstein, D. J. Malosh, and J. Rice, formerly of the Department of Biology, Wayne State University, who assisted in the capture-recapture experiments. Dr. H. C. Chen, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, and Michael Tyrkus, Department of Biology, Wayne State University, offered advice and assistance during preparation of certain tables of this report. Anthony Dajnowicz of Wayne's Department of Biology helped in the arrangement and cataloging of preserved materials. Holly Mahoney of the Department of Zoology, University of Michigan, Jura Kaupas and Margaret Jordan of the Department of Biology, Wayne State University, typed various manuscript drafts. Costs of

l~ontributionNo. 348 from the Department of Biology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202. This project was supported by Basic Research Grant GB-1065 of the National Science Foundation awarded to Wayne State University and supervised by S. K. Gangwere during the years 1963-1965. 2~angwereis Professor, Department of Biology, Wayne State University, Detroit; Evans, Profsssor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Associate Director, E. S. George Reserve, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Nelson, graduate student, Department of Biology, Wayne State University, and Instructor, Wayne County Community College, Detroit, Michigan.