Scientific Key For Identifying Grasshoppers 1) A) Heads rounded. Colorful ranging from yellow to brown…………………………………………….. Go to 2 B) Heads slanted. Two major colors green, brown, or grey………………………………………….. Go to 3 2) A) Wings long, They are the same length or longer than abdomen. Brown or yellow body…………………………………………………………………….. Go to 4 B) Wings are short, does not cover abdomen (cannot fly). Very colorful with pink, green, brown on legs and short wings ………… Go to 5 3) A) Back of head, thorax (and wing) with thick brown stripe. Antenna thick and black at end. Back is straight …………………………………………………………………………..… Go to 6 B) Side of head and thorax has thick brown stripe (not the back). Antenna pale Pfadt: Clearwinged grasshopper, Camnula pellucida (Scudder)
___________________________________________________________
Back looks bowed …………………………………………………………………………. Go to 7 September 1994
Male
Figures 6-10. Appearance of the adult male and female of
C. pellucida, diagnostic characters, and the egg pod and
several loose eggs.
4) Clearwinged grasshopper (Camnula pellucida) Lives in mountain, drier grasslands in Western United States. Eats grass and greens. Pest to farmers who grow grains. Pfadt: Plains Lubber grasshopper, Brachystola magna (Girard)
___________________________________________________________
grounds. Cool, dry weather, however, may delay the start of
6. BL 19.5-21.5 mm FL 10.5-11.8 mm AS 25-29.
hatching by a month and may extend the hatching period for
Female
a month or longer. Hatchlings emerge in the morning when
Male
Figures 6-10. Appearance of the adult male and female of
temperatures are rising rapidly, especially after a shower the
Brachystola magna, hindlegs of both sexes, pronotum and
previous egg
evening.
Hatching begins around 9 a.m. and
pod and exposed eggs.
reaches a maximum between___________________________________________________________
11 a.m. and 12 noon. Pfadt: Meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus curtipennis (Harris)
5) Plains Lubber Grasshopper (Brachystola magna) Lives in prairies and flat lands. Not found on mountains. Eats green Septemberleaves, 1994 grasses, and crops like sunflowers. Pest to Nymphal Development
The nymphs disperse quickly in search of food when
large numbers of hatchlings are present on egg beds of
Male
Figures 5-8. Appearance
of the
adult may
male
native sod.
Movement
be and
in anyfemale
directionof
and often
7.
BL
22-25
mm
FL
12.2-13.6
mm
AS
24-26.
1. view
Head
green,
tan,
or head
fuscous;
antennae
filiform
continues
through
the entire
nymphal
stage.
Invasion
of and
Chorthippus curtipennis,
dorsal
of adult
and
6. BL 43-52 mm FL 24.5-26 mm AS 23.
chieflyatblack,
each results
segmentinwith
distal ivory
fieldspod
of young
this time
extensive
crop
Wings
pronotum, and the egg
and wheat
eggs.
Female
annulus,
subocular
groove
black,
instars
I
and
II
with
damage. Nymphs exposed to warm temperatures and
vertical
ivory
bar
in
front
of
eye
on
each
side
of
the
nutritious food plants complete development in 26 days.
frons; compound eyes dark brown.
Less favorable conditions may extend this period to 40 days
Pfadt:
Spottedwinged
grasshopper, Cordillacris occipitalis (Thomas)
2. Pronotum: disk
and lateral lobes
trapezoidal,
median
___________________________________________________________
or longer.
Lives in wet mountain meadows, marshes, and around lakes. Eats grasses. Not known as a pest. 6) Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus curtipennis) carina distinct, black, and entire (uncut), lateral
carinae distinct, black and cut once in front of
middle,and
disk banded
pink and green with dense
Adults
Reproduction
number of small knobs (Fig. 8); posterior margin of
Because nymphs of the clearwinged grasshopper
disk ivory, lateral lobes more or less margined with
develop faster
than
those
of the twostriped,
the(see Fig.
Figures 6-10. Appearance
of the
adult
male
and
female
of of
ivory.
Mesonotum
smooth
andadults
shiny
black
7. BL 44.5-55 mm FL 21-24 mm AS 23-24.
clearwinged may1,appear
The young
adults are
dark
Ifirst.
for exposed
Cordillacris
wings,
andinstar
the
egg
pod mesonotum),
andfiliform
an in subsequent
Forewingmm
(tegmen)
and hindwing.
1. Headoccipitalis,
with strongly
slanted
face;
antennae
5. BL8.15.3-16
FL 9.6-10
mm AS 23-26.
brownish gray, but
as they
mature, they
turn lighter.
When
instars
the pronotum
overgrows
and hides
the
opened pod
three
eggs
in
situs.
they
become
sexually
active Metanotum
onin
theinstars
breeding
they like
andexposing
flat; lateral
foveolae
indistinct
Igrounds,
and
mesonotum.
knobbed
and colored
body. Hindcages
femurunder
patterned,
hind tibia hues of
turn bright
yellow.
Inoflaboratory
conditions
II, oblong and
distinct
inrest
instars
III and
IV.
orangeenvironment,
in instars I to IV,
orange
or yellow in instar
simulating the natural
males
become
V. of
2. Brown stripereproductively
runs alongmature
side
behind
in body
five to from
seven days
after fledging
7) Spotted grasshopper (Cordillacris occipitalis) September 1994
Male
Hindleg
Head and
Pronotum
Venter
body
usuallyinyellow,
ivory,
and females
in3.seven
to of
ten
days.
compound eye
to nearly
end
of
abdomen
instars
I or gray.
Courtship
by the
involves
holding theare
antennae
and II; face, sides
of head,
andmale
lobes
of
pronotum
Hatching
a V-shape and moving
the hind femora rapidly up
usually solidupright
greeninor
yellow
in instars
IIIlubber
and IV.
Phenologically,
the plains
grasshopper belongs to
and down and against the tegmina (ordinary stridulation).
the
intermediate
group
grasshopper
The male
climbs
onto the
backofof
a receptive
femaleHatching
and has
3. Pronotum with
lateral
carinae
nearly
parallel
inspecies.
been observed to start in eastern Kansas in mid May, in
quickly
lowers
his
abdomen
down
to
make
genital
contact.
instars I andwith
II; lateral
carinae
slightly
converging
onfirst week of
northern
Colorado
and in Wyoming
during
the
3. Pronotum
low,
distinct
median
carina;
lateral
Perched precariously and to one side, the male often
8. Inner face of female hindleg (top) and the larger
male hindleg (bottom).
6. BL9.16.5-18.5
FLon10-10.4
24-25. Pronotum
Note lateralmm
foveola
head and mm
carinaeAS
on pronotum.
Lives dry grasslands and deserts. Eats green leaves and grasses. Pest Female
for ranch lands.