Insects have been collected on major islands of the Bahamas, particularly since 2000 as part of the Bahamian National Insect Collection. These collections have included a variety of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. Acridid grasshoppers have been identified from ten of the islands collected: Abaco, Acklins, Cat Island, Great Exuma, Great Inagua, Mayaguana, New Providence, North and South Andros, and San Salvador. Four subfamilies (Acridinae, Cyrtacanthacridinae, Gomphocerinae, and Oedipodinae) are represented; in addition, the subfamily Romaleinae is recorded from the National Collection in Nassau as an introduction on New Providence. Species distributions are examined relative to island location and fragment identity, and to species records from Florida, as well as to dispersal behavior and flight capability in the species for which that information is known.
Keywords: acridid biodiversity, Bahamian insects
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