Field observations of Tropidacris collaris (Orthoptera: Romaleidae)

Abstract

Tropidacris is a neotropical genus of three known species that include the largest grasshoppers in the world (Carbone ll 1986). Two species, T. collaris and T. cristata, have very broad ranges that include most of South America north of the southern cone. The former is the species found on Margarita Island, while the range of the latter includes Trinidad and Tobago. Rowell's (1983) brief account of T. cristata summarized the biological information on record for the genus. ending with the remark that "Nothing very much is known of any of them." It is this sparseness of biological information that justifies the present brief observations. All are from an area of cactus scrub outside the village of La Vecindad on the island of Margarita, Venezuela, on 19 August 1997.