Preserved insects and physical condition of Grasshopper Glacier, Carbon County, Montana, U.S.A

In 1989 and 1990, a study of Grasshopper Glacier (Carbon County, Montana) was conducted to determine the quality and quantity of insect deposits and the physical status of the glacier. From the lowest glacial remnants we recovered 38 distinct insect fragments, which included 13 grasshopper parts. Of these, five were intact mandibles. Using unique morphometric and morphological analyses we concluded that the mandibles had come from the extinct Rocky Mountain grasshopper, Melanoplus spretus (Walsh). Photographic and cartographic comparisons of the glacier's area indicate that it has receded to 38% of its 1956 area.