Purple Shamrocks
Location: North Augusta, SC
May 15, 2011 3:50 pm
These bugs were found clustered on a burgundy oxalis. Are they harmful to plants?
They dispersed quickly when I brushed them off.
Signature: Phillip
Grasshopper Hatchlings
Dear Phillip,
These look like newly hatched Grasshoppers. We cannot be certain of the species. Grasshoppers feed on plants, and their presence in such numbers on your purple shamrocks indicates that the eggs may have been laid in the flower pot, however, it does not appear that they are feeding on the shamrock. The plant is in the genus Oxalis and the plant contains oxalic acid, which may deter insects from feeding upon it.
5
¶ Posted 15 May 2011 § ‡ ° What is it?!
Location: Boca Raton, FL
April 3, 2011 5:22 pm
Hey bugman, my friend found this bug in his backyard. We’re from Boca Raton, FL (it’s pretty hot out here, in the 80s). We haven’t had any crazy storms down here recently but this isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. I tried Googling but the only ones I found were the boxelder and the spittlebugs, but this one doesn’t look like them. Thanks!
Signature: Lena
Immature Eastern Lubber Grasshopper
Hi Lena,
This is an immature Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera, which you may read about on BugGuide. We are surprised your friend only found one as they generally appear in groups. They can get quite numerous at times. The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper displays aposematic warning coloration as they are reported to be quite distasteful.
1
¶ Posted 04 April 2011 § ‡ ° Cricket?
Location: Big Bend National Park, the Dagger Flats
March 21, 2011 1:30 am
I was just on a field trip with my geology class in Big Bend National Park over spring break. While I was taking my field final this little guy hopped past me. At first I thought he was some sort of reptile but I looked closer and he has 6 legs. He was also a bit dusty. I’m just curious about what he is.
Signature: Abby B
Robust Toad Lubber
Hi Abby,
This grasshopper is a Robust Toad Lubber, Phrynotettix robustus, which we identified on BugGuide. They are described as: “Stocky broad-bodied grasshoppers, very ‘pebble-like’, with very short wings (much shorter in females) behind the large shield-like pronotum. Color is usually pale whitish, tan, or grayish, often with scattered darker spots or mottling.” Greg Lasley’s website provides this information: “The Robust Toad Lubber (Phrynotettix robustus) is a species of grasshopper in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. It is sometimes simply called Toad Lubber, and inhabits canyon floors and other regions in desert habitats.”
4
¶ Posted 21 March 2011 § ‡ ° What’s that bug?
Location: Gold Head State Park area, Florida
March 16, 2011 10:20 pm
Wondering if you can ID this well-camouflaged bug
Signature: Florida Trail Hiker
Southern Green-Striped Grasshopper
Hi Florida Trail Hiker,
After a brief search, we believe we have identified your grasshopper as a Southern Green-Striped Grasshopper, Chortophaga australior, based on images posted to BugGuide. BugGuide indicates: “There are two color forms present in this species, a green form: …and a brown form: …with intermediates found in both sexes. The principal difference between forms is found in the coloring of the head, thorax, and outer face of the hind femora. The median ridge on the pronotum is slightly elevated. An X-shaped mark is present on the dorsal surface of the pronotum in the brown forms. The leading edge of the forewings is marked with 2–3 large green or light brown spots, with the balance of the forewings colored dark brown. The most important distinguishing character of this species is the color of the hind wing. Unlike Florida’s other bandwinged species, southern greenstriped grasshopper lacks a bold, black, transverse band on the hind wing. The black band is present, but greatly muted, reduced to no more than a smoky area in many individuals. Similarly, the yellow in the basal area of the hind wing is muted to absent. The upper surface of the hind femora usually is marked with about 3 large dark spots; the central or largest spot is triangular when viewed from above. The hind tibiae are brown or bluish green.”
Southern Green-Striped Grasshopper
THANK YOU very much. I did my best to try to ID this creature, and erroneously came up with Obscure Bird Grasshopper. I sure appreciate your taking the time to give the pictures a look, and set me straight.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Beckley (Florida Trail Hiker)
¶ Posted 20 March 2011 § ‡ ° Grasshopper family group
Location: Tingo Maria National Park, Huanuco, Peru
February 27, 2011 5:55 am
Can you please help with identification of these grasshoppers from Peru? Although they had separated by the time I photographed them, the adult was originally with the group of newly-hatched nymphs and photographed with them by one of my companions, so we believe it to be the same species, presumably the mother.
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Grasshopper
Hi again Peter,
While it is entirely possible that the adult Grasshopper and the Grasshopper Nymphs you photographed are the same species, it is also possible that chance occurrences brought them together. Grasshoppers do not care for their young, and often immature grasshoppers have drastically different coloration and markings than the adults of the same species. We hope our readership might be able to provide additional information on these colorful Peruvian Grasshoppers.
Grasshopper Nymphs
Karl provides an identification
Hi Daniel and Peter:
These are lubber grasshoppers (Romaleidae: Romalaeinae) in the genus Chromacris. There are numerous internet images of very similar or identical looking grasshoppers, most of which are identified as Chromacris sp. or Chromacris speciosa. Of the dozen or so species and subspecies, C. speciosa is probably the most common and widely distributed. However, I suspect that many, if not most of the available internet images of C. speciosa have been misidentified. According to Roberts and Carbonell (1982), the only species with this particular color and pattern combination (yellow tipped antennae; yellow and black hind wings; three yellow bands on the hind femora and two on the hind tibiae; pale anterior and posterior forewing margins), is C. peruviana. Chromacris speciosa is highly variable but the antennae are always entirely black. The few images of Chromacris nymphs that I was able to find all look quite similar to the ones posted, so I would say they likely are of the same species as the adult. Regards. Karl
Roberts, H. Radclyffe, and Carlos S. Carbonell. 1982. A revision of the grasshopper genera Chromacris and Xestotrachelus (Orthoplera, Romaleidae, Romaleinae). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Volume 43: 43-58
¶ Posted 28 February 2011 § ‡ ° Colourful Grasshopper
Location: Natal Midlands in South Africa
February 20, 2011 5:58 am
We were travelling in the Natal Midlands of South Africa when I stumbled across this very colourful mean looking grasshopper. He was incidentally only a meter away from a Koppies Foam Grasshopper. Can you identify him?
Signature: Deryck
Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper
Dear Deryck,
We believe your specimen is a Koppie Foam Grasshopper, Dictyophorus spumans, or at least a closely related species of Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper in the same family, Pyrgomorphidae. Many times there is variability between individuals of the same species. The warning coloration or aposematic coloration that is evident in your photo is designed to warn predators that this Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper should not be eaten.
South African grasshoppers
Location: Cape Town, SA
January 23, 2011 12:14 pm
Hi,
I spotted this pair of grasshoppers in the foothills of Table Mountain. Would be interested in any info you can give.
Signature: Thanks – Simon
Mating Milkweed Grasshoppers
Dear Simon,
We are quite thrilled to post your photo of mating Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. They are also known as Foaming Grasshoppers or Gaudy Grasshoppers. Many species are highly toxic because they are able to store the toxins from the milkweed leaves they eat.
The Grasshopper and the spider
Location: Healesville, Victoria Australia
January 21, 2011 3:55 pm
I had this cute little drama played out the other day and thought you might like to see. I tiny spider annoying a big grasshopper, I dont know what kind. Several times it swiped the spider off and each time the spider crawled back up by its web. Eventually the grasshopper lowered it down and they went their separate ways.
Signature: Linda in Healesville Australia
Unknown Grasshopper interacts with Spiderling
Hi Linda,
Your photo is quite amusing, however, we are having a difficult time trying to identify this somewhat distinctive Grasshopper. We cannot find a match on the Brisbane Insect website nor on the LifeUnseen website. The spider, which we believe may be a newly hatched spiderling, is well beyond our ability to identify, however, we do have a theory to explain the activity you witnessed. Newly hatched spiderlings often disperse by ballooning on the wind. They will climb to a high point and release a strand of silk that catches the wind and then carries the spiderling to a distant location, hopefully one that will result in a rich food supply. This will ensure that the young spiderling will not have to compete with siblings to survive. We believe the spiderling in your photo has mistaken the Grasshopper’s antenna for a twig and that is the highest elevation point it is able to reach at the moment the photo was taken. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in the Grasshopper identification.
Unknown Grasshopper with Spiderling Hitchhiker
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