A Synthesis of Multivariate Techniques to Distinguish Patterns of Growth in Grasshoppers

Abstract

A study of polymorphism in the grasshoppers Chorthippus parallelus, C. albomargina tus, C. brunnzus and Stenobothrus lineatus. Polymorphism is considered as a consequence 6i variation in the degree of interlocking of patterns of growth. The patterns are distinguished by multivariate statistical analyses placing special emphasis on the vector properties of discriminant functions. Ten morphometric characters were measured on 1437 insects, to establish the shapes of the poly-morphs. Only 2 distinct patterns of growth were found, but these were common to the 3 species. Varieties of different species sharing a common color pattern will not necessarily share other phenotypic attributes.