A survey of acridid grasshoppers of Oklahoma and a comparison of species richness among six ecoregions

            Grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae and Romaleidae) collectively pose the greatest pest threat to grazing land in the Great Plains of the United States. Annually, grasshoppers consume approximately 22% of all forage in the western United States. Despite the substantial damage that grasshoppers cause, the vast majority of research has been conducted on a handful of species that are considered the most economically important. There are approximately 120 species of grasshoppers known to occur in Oklahoma, but there have been no comprehensive surveys undertaken since the early 1960s. Many of the earlier studies neglected the tribal lands that make up a large portion of Oklahoma, leaving the grasshopper diversity poorly sampled in the eastern half of the state. Understanding shifts in species in response to climate change is also important for forecasting and preventing major grasshopper outbreaks in the future. This study surveyed grasshopper diversity throughout Oklahoma and compared species richness of the six different ecoregions of Oklahoma. Specimens were collected by combination of sweep and ariel netting at sites that were expected to have high grasshopper diversity. Results show similar diversity but different species composition across the state. The majority of rangeland potential pest species were found in the mixed-grass prairie ecoregion in western Oklahoma.