Ultra-Hopper
Hey,
My children and I live on Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona. We found this amazing grasshopper next to our mailbox and we were hoping you could tell us more about it! It is about 3 inches long and the underside of its wings is a bright orange-red color. We enjoyed looking at all the other hoppers on your site trying to find it thank you SO much!
Yours Truly,
The Thomas Family
Hi Thomases
We wanted to get and expert opinion on your exact species of Lubber Grasshopper, so we wrote to Eric Eaton. Here is his response: “It is the Horse Lubber, Taeniopoda eques, a common species in southern Arizona, but randomly distributed in any given year. We haven’t had any in Tucson for several years. Eric “
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Posted 28 September 2005
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Florida Cricketlike
I saw these around campus here in Miami the other day… im guessing they were copulating. I liked the colors so i snapped away, have any idea what they are?
Osvaldo
Hi Osvaldo,
Your mating insects are Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers.
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Posted 18 September 2005
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Louisiana swamp bug
Hello,
I was startled by the size of these when I saw them while vacationing in New Orleans this July. They were just sitting happily in the grass outside the ticket office where we took our Swamp Tour. I thought they must be some kind of grasshopper, but I’ve never seen anything so big. What are they?
Thanks very much. The web site is fascinating!
Jim Smith
Hi Jim,
These are grasshoppers, Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Romalea guttata. This species is usually brightly colored, but we found a posting on BugGuide with a comment by Eric Eaton, our favorite expert, regarding the unusual dark coloration.
Devil’s Horses
(09/14/2006) Just a tidbit
L Hi:
I’m glad you had info on the Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Romalea guttata. My grandparents called the black variety “Devil’s Horses”, in case you didn’t know. Oops. In case it matters, I forgot to tell you, I’m from Birmingham, AL. Thanks,
Michael
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Posted 31 August 2005
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Mystery bug : )
Hi – we found this in our garage and figure it’s some sort of grasshopper – but the wildest one we’ve ever seen! We live just north of Phx, AZ. Any idea what it is?
Thanks!
Beth
Hi Beth,
I guess it won’t surprise you that your grasshopper is a Painted Grasshopper, Dactylotum bicolor. This little beauty is found in the Arizona, Texas and Colorado in desert grasslands and sometimes alfalfa fields.
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Posted 05 August 2005
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grasshopper picture
Hi.
I found this large grasshopper clinging to a plant in my driveway (in New Delhi, India). Your grasshopper page says you aren’t familiar with Asian insects, but I thought you might like the photograph nevertheless. I keep misremembering the name of your site as "whatthebug.com" 
ams
Hi Abhijit,
Thanks for the photo. We will post it on our Grasshopper page without an identification.
Ed. Note: (11/16/2005)
This just in from Eric Eaton: “New Delhi grasshopper, 8/05/2005 is another bush locust in the Pyrgomorphidae family.”
Update (08/27/2006)
Poekilocerus pictus
I think I’ve got an answer to “New Delhi Grasshopper (08/05/2005)”: Poekilocerus pictus AKA Painted Grasshopper. This was just checking the Internet; found only one picture from a reliable source, but other good info as well: feeds on milkweed, making it poisonous. I’ve got it on photo too, from North India, will be online in a couple of weeks. Cheers, marco
www.ecocam.com
Marco Bleeker, Amsterdam, NL.
Confirmation: (08/10/2007) grasshopper id
Hi I was going through your site on grasshoppers and i saw this photo of grasshopper posted by Abhijit from New Delhi. I know the species. Its called painted grasshopper – Poecilocera pictus .We get quite some colourful ones like that and can be seen most frequently on Calotropis plants as also on other selected Asclepedaceae plant species. Hope its of some help. cheers
Dr.Geetha Iyer. Ph.D
Kanyakumari dist., Tamil Nadu.
India.
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Posted 05 August 2005
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What is this?
I have these outside my home in West Palm Beach, FL.Being from Pittsburgh, I am a little freaked out by their size and audacity. In this pic, there is one on top of the other. Not sure why, maybe I don’t want to know…
Julie
Hi Julie,
We think you know what your Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Romalea microptera, are doing, which is why they will be posted on our Love Among the Bugs page. Adults begin to appear in June and can be found through November in the South. They give off a malodorous liquid when handled and their hind legs have sharp spines that can cut human skin.
Follow-Up: (04/04/2005) Lubber grasshoppers
While perusing your site I came across a picture of the Southern Lubber Grasshopper. We have three color variations of a very similar grasshopper in our yard in South Central Louisiana (just south of Baton Rouge ). There is a large black variety with red on the wings, a black and white stripped and a black, yellow and white stripped variety. Are these from the same family? I have heard a myriad of common names: Devil’s Horse, creosote grasshopper, Tobacco juice Grasshopper, Black locust; etc. They absolutely love to eat my crinum lilies which have thick fleshy leaves. At maturity (or at least as large as I’ve seen) they are 4 or 5 inches in length. They are almost as bad as tomato horn worms when it comes to damage to a plant. Thanks so much for the time and energy you’ve spent to provide such an entertaining and informative site. As a gardener, it helps to know not only the enemies, but also the friends to my garden.
Jean Lavigne,
Prairieville, La
Hi Jean,
Lubber Grasshoppers come in several color variations. WE especially like the colorful common names you have given this critter in your area.
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Posted 02 August 2005
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what is this, a grasshopper?
Hi,
I enjoy your site. I photographed this insect yesterday in Northern NJ, it was hopping around on the ground among the type of stones you would find around railroad tracks. I am having trouble identifying this insect, and I am not sure if this is its natural color or if it has camouflaged itself. It appears to be some sort of grasshopper. Is it?
Thanks, Joe O.
Hi Joe,
This is a Grasshopper, but it is immature. It will soon grow its adult wings and be capable of flight. These types of grasshoppers often have yellow and black striped underwings which show gaudily in flight.
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Posted 12 July 2005
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3 pics
Hi! I’m in Florida and I have 3 pictures I have questions about. One is of some sort of bug…possibly a cricket or cicada? I’ve asked several people and they are not sure.
Thanks!
Jaime
Hello again Jaime,
Your photo is a wonderful image of a Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera. They have short wings and are incapable of flight. There are two different color variations. They are found in gardens, fields and on roadsides. Adults appear in June and are active until November. They can give off a foul smelling liquid when they are handled.
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Posted 06 July 2005
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Locust ?
Hi,
Any idea what this might be ? It was photographed in Singapore on a 9th floor apartment. I suspect it may be a locust !
Thanks
FL
Hi FL,
Not being familiar with Asian insects, we can tell you it is a member of the Short-Horned Grasshopper Family Acrididae. This includes the Locusts, Lubber Grasshoppers and Bird Grasshoppers. We are not inclined to believe this is one of the swarming locusts and will say so with confidence.
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Posted 13 June 2005
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Mini grasshopper
Hi Bugman,
Attached is a picture of a mini-grasshopper. This was photographed in Atlanta, GA, USA on April 18, 2005. The size is about 4 or 5 mm long. I’ve seen several since then. I’ve looked at several photos of pygmy grasshoppers and haven’t found one like this. I would appreciate any help on the ID.
Thanks,
Bill DuPree
Atlanta, GA
Hi Bill,
Springtime is the time for baby animals, grasshoppers included. While I can’t positively identify your species, I can tell you it is recently hatched, and will go through several moults until it emerges as an identifiable winged adult.
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Posted 05 May 2005
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Baby spiders, bee, grasshopper
Hi! Thought you might enjoy these pix of: newly hatched linx spiders (hard to tell on small picture, but when I zoom in they look just like Mom), cute bee (maybe you can ID this one?), and a big grasshopper on a cactus. Thanks for the wonderful site.
Best Wishes,
Donna in San Diego
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the images of the Green Lynx Spiderlings. Your bee is a common Honey Bee, Apis mellifera and your grasshopper is a Gray Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca nitens. The females can grow to 2 1/2 inches in length or larger.
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Posted 14 March 2005
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Please help me identify this bug !!!
hi there !! I’ve caught two bugs here but i can’t find their family name , genus, order and scientific name … i came across your website today and was wondering whether you can help me identify them ?? thanks alot .. !!! sorry i forgot to tell you that im writing from kuala lumpur , malaysia. i caught the stick-like insect near a pond somewhere around my house. it camouflages itself n looks like a grass. while the other bug was caught from a place call genting highlands. i found it in a carpark near a hotel. i think it came from the forest somewhere near the hotel. thanks alot. your help is very much appreciated. if you cant identify them then its ok.
angeline
Hi Angeline,
We checked with both Eric Eaton and Paul who has assisted us with grasshoppers before. Both agree your grasshopper is a Slant-Faced Grasshopper. Paul says: “I can’t tell you the genus or species for this hopper, but it’s definitely in Acrididae, the short horned grasshopper family, and in the subfamily Gomphocerinae, the slant faced grasshoppers. That’s the best I can do.”
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Posted 07 February 2005
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