Immature Bird Grasshopper

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