Can you identify this for me?
Hi
Please could you identify this grasshopper for me (JPEG attached). I photographed this in the Kruger, South Africa last November. Thanks
Nigel
Hi Nigel,
This is a Gaudy Grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae. According to a site we found online: “Pyrgomorphids are usually very colourful grasshoppers, the bright colours warning predators that they are poisonous (called aposematic colouration).” They are sometimes called Milkweed Grasshoppers. It will take someone more qualified than we to properly identify the exact species.
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Posted 23 January 2008
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Yippeee! 1st contribution
Hi there, thanks so much for your reply to my other mails. AHA! I think this one might be a ” Phymateus leprosies”
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Posted 11 January 2008
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Can you identify this bug for me
I was in Bisbee, AZ for a week and saw this bug three different times. It was about, I want to say it was about three inches long. All I know is that is looked so big I had to take a photo of it. Thanks for any information you can provide.
Mary Jane Bank
Hi Mary Jane,
This beauty is called a Horse Lubber Grasshopper.
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Posted 27 December 2007
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What’s this bug’s name?
SEEN IN HERMON, SOUTH AFRICA, LAST MONTH. CAN YOU HELP ME? THANKS,
LYNNE
Hi Lynne,
This is a Foaming Grasshopper, Dictyophorus spumans, one of the toxic, milkweed eating, Gaudy Grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae.
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Posted 20 November 2007
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CA large grasshopper
We live in Los Angeles, CA. My husband caught this grasshopper for our boys to look at in September. We got more than we bargained for as it layed eggs the first night. Six weeks later they ALL hatched. I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of grasshopper it is, but haven’t found an exact match. I’ve attached a photo of the mother who was close to 4 inches long, as well as the egg sac, and nyphs.
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
What a wonderful letter. We generally try to scan letters that come in on a given day before deciding what to post, but on occasion, there is a letter so special that we just immediately post it. Your grasshopper is a Gray Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca nitens, a common species in the Los Angeles area. According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, the adults are generally found in the spring. The large female Gray Bird Grasshoppers are about twice as large as the males. The nymphs are bright green. Both nymphs and adults feed on the leaves of crops and ornamental garden plants.
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Posted 19 November 2007
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Eastern Lubber ?
Found this big guy in the Big Bend area of Texas. Looked to be about 2+". Just beautiful !
Tom
Hi Tom,
We believe this is a different species, the Horse Lubber, Taeniopoda eques. There are many images on BugGuide.
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Posted 15 November 2007
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Madagascar grasshopper and a cocoon
Hi,
We recently went to Madagascar on a mission trip where we spent a great deal of time hiking/backpacking in the bush. We went to 2 parts of the island and while in the southern part, we found a couple of these grasshoppers. I was on your website and I think that it is the same as this one: Phymateus saxosus. The grasshopper had beautiful red wings and was about 4 inches… another one we saw was bigger than 6 inches or so. Our translators called them Valalan-dolo which translates (according to them) Ghost Grasshopper. And while I’m sending pics… we found this cocoon at a national forest in the north west part of the island. It was huge… at least 8 inches tall… do you know what it is? Thanks,
Nicole Bachman
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for sending your photo of Phymateus saxosus as well as the valuable information on the local name. The cocoon is probably one of the Giant Silk Moths.
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Posted 01 November 2007
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Grasshopper from SA
Hi there,
I found this Grasshopper on my lawn (in South Africa) last summer and would really like to know its name and family. Thank you,
Rhode
Hi Rhode,
This is a Green Bush Locust, Phymateus viridipes. It is one of the toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers. Your photo is quite stunning.
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Posted 08 October 2007
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Please identify this beautiful bug..
They have hot pink wings!
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
These are known as Horse Lubber Grasshoppers.
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Posted 25 September 2007
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Weird bug
I found this guy eating my honeysuckles and Amaryllis’. What is it?
Minniemoe
Dear Minniemoe,
This is a Horse Lubber Grasshopper, Taeniopoda eques, a species generally reported from Arizona and Texas, so if you live in Maine, this sighting is very significant. If you were one of our photo students, we would probably question why you composed your image into a horizontal shot with wasted space that produced an unnecessarily cropped subject, cutting of the lovely orange antennae and wing tips. We took the liberty of removing the excess space but sadly, we could not re-attach the compositionally amputated body parts.
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Posted 22 September 2007
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What Is This Large Blue Grasshopper Called
Hi, I know you are busy, so whenever you get to it, will you please tell me what species of grasshopper this is? I have attached two photos of the same bug. My husband and I visited the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona near the New Mexico
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Posted 15 September 2007
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Grass Hopper?
Hi,
I found this little guy in my sunflowers! I live in Soutern CA in the Mojave desert. It was kind enough to ket me photograph it before hopping away 
I have never seen a red grass hopper, but that is whar t this lloks like to me…It was only about 3 inches long.
Jill Odice
Hi Jill,
Though your question contains numerous words we don’t recognize, we believe you want this grasshopper identified. Though we are not positive, we believe this to be an immature Carolina Locust, that despite its name, ranges over much of North America. There is a cinnamon-brown color variation that is not as common as the grayish tan coloration. We would gladly welcome anyone who can provide a conclusive identification.
Hi Daniel,
Jeez, I must have been so excited about my little grasshopper that I didn’t even ck my spelling Thanks for getting back to me with the interesting information! I love your website…I could spend hours just looking at all those bugs! Being here in the Mojave desert, I see all kinds of strange looking critters, so your site is great for figuring out what they are! How do I get to have my photos on your site? Just curious…I always have my camera with me, and try and catch anything new in the bug world with it when I can! Keep up the great work! I attached another photo of that worm that ate my tomato plants for you.
Jill Odice
Correction (08/28/2007) red grasshopper
I would say the picture of the red grasshopper is a nymph of one of the Schistocerca species. I believe Eric Eaton identified an adult red grasshopper as Schistocerca in the past. Not that all red grasshoppers are bird grasshoppers, but this one does look like a candidate. Just my $.02.
Chad Lensbower
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Posted 27 August 2007
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