Article and photos by Phalon Joy
I was delighted with the company of our Wednesday morning
visitor, the fascinating Hump-winged Great Grig. Cyphoderris monstrosa, otherwise called “Monster Haglid,” is one of
three species of this genus found in North America (“Hump-winged Grig”, n.d.). The
other two species include the smaller in size Buckell’s Grig (found in Eastern
Washington) and the Sagebrush Grig, native to Wyoming and Colorado (Douglas
2010).
Sightings of the fossil-y and primitive Great Grig are uncommon, which
explains much of my initial intrigue in this specimen. The species is found in
Oregon, western Washington, Idaho, western Montana, and southern British
Columbia and Alberta, in montane coniferous forests of Lodgepole Pine, Mountain
Hemlock, and Englemann Sruce trees (“Hump-winged Grig”, n.d.). A handful of
grig species can also be found in eastern Siberia and central China, although
little is known about these Asian family members (McLeod 2005).
The species name, Monstrosa, translates in Latin to “like a
monster; very large; hideous and frightful” (Douglas 2010). The Mesozoic family
they belong to, Prophalangopsidae, are for the most part extinct (McLeod
2005). The Great Grig shares the suborder Ensifera (the Longhorned
Orthopterans) with the Jerusalem cricket, another fascinating and rather
striking insect, native to the western United States and parts of Mexico
(McLeod 2005). Grigs are also related to katydids (Douglas 2010).
Great Grigs are nocturnal, hiding and burrowing under leafcover during
the day and becoming active at night- males singing while climbing up
evergreens, and females following, either to mate or dine in the uppermost
branches (Naskrecki 2013). Unlike grasshoppers who consume mostly grass,
crickets and grigs have a wider dietary range; Cyphoderris monstrosa are
no exception (Denning 2013). They consume staminate cones and flowers, pollen and
various parts of broadleaved shrubs, and even fruit and small insects. They overwinter
in the ground as new adults, and become active in May (McLeod 2005).
While in a defensive display, the Great Grig throws itself onto its
back and spreads its legs widely, revealing a dramatically black-striped
underside, mimicking a large spider (Douglas 2010).
Adult grigs have a fossil-ly resemblance. They are large, ranging from
20 to 30 millimeters long at maturity. These are creatures of camouflage. Males
have dark gray dorsals with pale white ventral sections and a set of short,
stubby wings that are “humped up and wrinkled like a loosely-folded blanket
heaped on the insects back” (McLeod 2005). These wings are modified sound organs,
aphrodisiacal instruments. They also have another set of wings- fleshier and
filled with hemolymph (insect blood), which are rather disposable and are
consumed by females immediately before intercourse (Nasreckti 2013). Females
are either wingless or come equipped with smaller, even stubbier wings (McLeod,
2005).
Male Grigs use singing or “calling” to attract mates, and the “high-pitched
but rather pleasant warble” (Naskreck, 2013) sound of their call has been
compared to the ringing of an old-fashioned telephone. Males make their calls
at night, and usually while sitting directly upside down on a tree’s bark,
making it easier to be located by the female (Denning 2013). At around 77
degrees Fahrenheit, males rub their forewings together in order to produce the calls,
the trills of which last several seconds, then stops briefly, before starting
again (Denning 2013). While the calls of the other two species of grigs are
rather indistinguishable, the high-Q chirp of the Great Grig is unique
(Naskrecki 2013), and demonstrates the higher wing stroke rate of the three- at
50 to 75 strokes a second (Douglas 2010) . The warmer it is, the higher the
number of pulses (Denning 2013). Carrier frequencies is higher in small males
and lower in larger males (Toxopeusa et al. 2016).
Great Grig reproduction is a scandalous and cannibalistic endeavor.
Males sacrifice their second set of wings- the fleshier blood-filled ones – as
a sexual exchange in return for the opportunity to reproduce. Once a female locates the male, she mounts
his back and starts eating the wings (McLeod 2005). Meanwhile, the male attaches
and engages his spermataphore externally with her gonophore, and transfers his
sperm (Denning 2013). After copulation, he leaves behind the nutrient-dense spermatophylax,
which is also consumed upon his departure by the female (Denning 2013). The
nutrients and carbohydrates found in these gelatinous nuptial gifts provide the
female with the proper sustenance needed for reproduction. While females prefer
to mate with virgin males, the songs of mated vs. unmated Grigs aren’t easily
indistinguishable (McLeod 2005). Once a male has attached himself to a female,
disengaging isn’t an easy task, and there’s typically enough time for males to
successfully transfer their sperm (Nasrecki 2013).
Interestingly, males with higher duty cycles (ratio between pulse
duration and wavelength period) are more likely to be successful during
territorial encounters with other males (Toxopeusa et al. 2016).
An extensive study conducted by the University of Ontario’s Department
of Biology found that Great Grig nymphs are freeze –tolerant, can survive
internal ice formation, and demonstrated a lethal temperature of between -9
degrees and -12 degrees Celsius. These impressive numbers are certainly to the
insects benefit and may be due to the presence of cryoprotectants - substances
used to protect internal organs from freezing, found in the insects’ blood
(Toxopeusa et al. 2016).
.
The conservation status of the Great Grig has not yet been determined,
although their population is widely believed to be declining (McLeod 2005).
Works Cited
Denning, I. (2013, March 5). Great Grig. Retrieved August 3,
2016 from
Douglas, C. (2010, October 2). Great Grig. Retrieved August 13,
2016 from
Hump-Winged Grig. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 14,
2016, from
McLeod, R. (2005, November 29). Species Cyphoderris monstrosa -
Great Grig.
Naskrecki, P. (2013, September 3). A song of Ancient Earth {Web blog
post].
Retrieved August 13, 2016 from
Toxopeusa, J., Lebenzona, J., McKinnona, A., Sinclair, B. (2016).
Freeze
tolerance
of Cyphoderris monstrosa (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae) [Abstract]. The Canadian Enotomologist, 36
(3), 1-1.
