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
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.
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