Abstract
The enigmatic insect order Grylloblattodea comprises two described species in Canada, which are limited to the Montane Cordillera and Pacific Maritime ecozones. One of the described species has three Canadian subspecies of uncertain taxonomic ranking, and there are two additional undescribed or unreported species known in close proximity to the Canadian border in western Alberta and British Columbia that likely also occur in Canada. Thus, as much as 50% of the total taxonomic diversity of Grylloblattodea in Canada is still undocumented. Targeted surveys and taxonomic work, as well as studies that describe the ecology and conservation status of Grylloblattodea are important goals for future research.
Highlights
Since Kevan (1979) reviewed existing knowledge of the Grylloblattodea in Canada, there has been considerable advancement of our understanding of the evolutionary history and distribution of this group (Kamp 1979, Wipfler et al 2014), much remains to be learned about the systematics, ecology and conservation status of these insects (Schoville 2014)
It is widely recognized that a large number of species remain undescribed in North America (Jarvis and Whiting 2006, Schoville and Graening 2013), and the three recognized subspecies of G. campodeiformis in Canada (Table 1) are of uncertain taxonomic rank
Collection records suggest that ice crawlers are widespread in montane habitats of western Alberta and British Columbia (Schoville and Graening 2013; C Copley unpubl. data)
Summary
Since Kevan (1979) reviewed existing knowledge of the Grylloblattodea (as ‘Notoptera’) in Canada, there has been considerable advancement of our understanding of the evolutionary history and distribution of this group (Kamp 1979, Wipfler et al 2014), much remains to be learned about the systematics, ecology and conservation status of these insects (Schoville 2014). In North America, five new species of Grylloblatta have been described from California and Oregon (Schoville 2012, Marshall and Lytle 2015), bringing the total number of species to 33.
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