''Grylloblatta'' is a genus of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s in the family

Grylloblattidae Grylloblattidae, commonly known as the icebugs, or ice crawlers, is a family of extremophile (psychrophile) and wingless insects that live in the cold on top of mountains and the edges of glaciers. They belong, along with Mantophasmatidae (rock c ...

. It contains 15 species, including '' Grylloblatta chirurgica'', almost exclusively from high-altitude and high-latitude regions of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, living in

ice cave An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ...

s and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s. The genus was first described by Edmund Walker in 1914, based on a single species, ''

Grylloblatta campodeiformis ''Grylloblatta campodeiformis'', also known as the northern rock crawler, is an omnivorous species of insect in family Grylloblattidae. Like other species in the genus '' Grylloblatta'', it is endemic to North America. Taxonomy This species was ...

''.

Species

These 15 species belong to the genus ''Grylloblatta'': * ''

Grylloblatta barberi ''Grylloblatta barberi'' is a North American species of wingless insect in the genus '' Grylloblatta''. It is a rock crawler that lives at high altitudes in crevices under snow or glaciers. It was first described by Andrew Nelson Caudell in 192 ...

'' Caudell, 1924^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta bifratrilecta'' Gurney, 1953^{i c g b} * ''

'' E. M. Walker, 1914^{i c g b} (northern rock crawler) * '' Grylloblatta chandleri'' Kamp, 1963^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta chintimini'' Marshall & Lytle, 2015^{i c g b} * '' Grylloblatta chirurgica'' Gurney, 1961^{i c g b} (Mount St Helens' grylloblattid) * '' Grylloblatta gurneyi'' Kamp, 1963^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta marmoreus'' Schoville, 2012^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta newberryensis'' Marshall and Lytle, 2015^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta oregonensis'' Schoville, 2012^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta rothi'' Gurney, 1953^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta scudderi'' Kamp, 1979^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta sculleni'' Gurney, 1937^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta siskiyouensis'' Schoville, 2012^{i c g} * '' Grylloblatta washoa'' Gurney, 1961^{i c g} Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

Novel species

Based on genetic studies and other evidence, Schoville (2013) identifies the following as potential new species. *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "South Ice Cave" – Deschutes County *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "

Glacier Peak Glacier Peak or Dakobed (known in the Sauk-Suiattle dialect of the Lushootseed language as "Tda-ko-buh-ba" or "Takobia") is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes) of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the U.S state ...

" *''Grylloblatta'' sp. " Mount Rainier" *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Sawyer's Ice Cave 1" – Linn County and

Yakima County Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakam ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Sawyer's Ice Cave 2" – Linn County *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Trout Lake Caves" –

Klickitat County Klickitat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,735. The county seat and largest city is Goldendale. The county is named after the Klickitat tribe. History Klickitat Count ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Central Sierra Nevada" – Sixty Lake Basin,

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. " Tioga Crest" –

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

and

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Graveyard Lake" –

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. " Ostrander Lake" –

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Southwest Sierra Nevada" –

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief ...

and environs *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Lilburn cave" –

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. " Trinity Mountains" –

Shasta–Trinity National Forest The Shasta–Trinity National Forests are federally designated forests in northern California, United States. Combined, they are the largest National Forest in California and are managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The 2,210,485 acre (894,552 ...

*''Grylloblatta'' sp. nov. "

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easte ...

" –

Olympic National Forest Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jeffer ...

, near The Brothers *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "

Mount Spokane Mount Spokane levation ��previously known as Mount Baldy until 1912 due to its pronounced bald spot—is a mountain in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located northeast of Spokane, Washington, Spokane, Washington (state), Was ...

" *''Grylloblatta'' sp. "Polaris Peak" –

Coeur d'Alene National Forest The Coeur d'Alene is a U.S. National Forest located in the Idaho panhandle and is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (the other two are the Kaniksu and St. Joe National Forests). Coeur d'Alene Natio ...

Life cycle

Individuals have lifespans of between 6 to 10 years.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1383624 Grylloblattidae Insects of the United States Taxa named by Edmund Murton Walker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Psychrophiles