Carolina Grasshopper

The Carolina Grasshopper, Dissosteira carolina, has always been one of my favorites.  That’s partially because it’s such a large, showy insect.  The other reason is the fact that it can be found just about anywhere in the contiguous 48 United States.  My family moved frequently when I was young, but no matter where we went, I could always find this grasshopper.

Its coloration allows it to blend into just about any substrate.  The camouflage is so effective that the grasshopper is usually not noticed until it takes wing.  The flashy wings, black with a yellow border, are impossible to miss as the grasshopper flits through the air.  Their disappearance as the grasshopper touches ground is reminiscent of a fine magic act. 

Not only is this a common grasshopper, its preferred habitat is identical to that frequented by young boys.  Although it eats a wide variety of plants, the grasshopper tends to congregate in areas of bare ground.  It’s commonly found on school playgrounds, baseball diamonds, dirt roads, gravel driveways, concrete slabs and other similar conditions.  It didn’t make any difference if I was in an urban or a rural setting, these grasshoppers were always there.

The species seems to have a well defined personal space.  As I slowly neared that limit, the grasshopper would shift its body slightly and show more attention in my direction.  This one seemed to be using its antennae to send me a semaphore signal.  It began with both antennae up.

Then it would alternately drop and raise a single antenna.  First one would go down and then back up.

As one antenna returned to the upright position, the other would drop and lift.

Finally, both antennae dropped in unison and then rose.  I can’t be sure that the activity had anything to do with my presence, but the grasshopper jumped as soon as I began to move the camera closer.  I can’t see these guys without being reminded of my childhood.

Cooperative Grasshopper

I chase a lot of grasshoppers around the prairies in hopes of getting some quality photos of these fascinating creatures.  The process usually involves slow crawls through the tall grasses.  When I do get close enough to take pictures, it’s almost impossible to get side shots without blades of grass getting in the way.  While I was walking past the garden, I scared up a Coral-winged Grasshopper, Pardalophora apiculata, that was obliging enough to land on the horizontal brace timber of the fence corner.

The Coral-winged Grasshopper and the look-alike Orange-winged Grasshopper are commonly seen on the prairie.  Their pinkish red hind wings are highly visible while they are in flight.  Upon landing, they easily blend into the surrounding ground cover.  The visible difference between the two is found on the inside surface of the hind femur.  Orange-winged shows bright blue in this area and Coral-winged is without blue.  This area is usually hidden from view, but is often exposed as the grasshopper walks.

One of the distinguishing features of this grasshopper is the V formed by light bands running the length of the forewings.  The V is so prominent that it is the first thing you notice about this animal.

The grasshopper form has some remarkable features.  One of my favorites is the pronotum, a tough shield-like affair that sits like a saddle atop the thorax.  It makes the grasshopper appear as though it is dressed for battle.  I’ve watched mantids gnaw futilely against the pronotum in an attempt to feast upon the grasshopper.  Of course, all the mantid had to do was adjust its grip and attack a vulnerable spot, so the pronotum never actually saved the grasshopper.

The workings of the hind leg have always impressed me.  In order to jump, the tibia acts as a lever with the fulcrum, or pivot point, being in the large joint at the meeting of the two leg segments.  When we use levers, we apply a small force on the long end of the lever in order create a large force on the small end.  The grasshopper leg works in the opposite way.  A great amount of force must be applied to the short segment of lever in the joint in order to produce enough force in the long segment to propel the grasshopper’s body into the air.  The force of the jump may only be five or ten percent of that applied in the joint.  That inefficiency of transfer makes a long distance jump even more amazing.

Grasshopper

I’ve always had a fascination for grasshoppers.  It’s just been in the past couple of years that I’ve really learned anything about them.  I was hesitant to delve into grasshopper identification, because I perceived such a vast number of local species.  The truth is that the possible variations within a species make it seem that there are many species involved.  This is a Northern Green-striped Grasshopper, Chortophaga viridifasciata, a species that produces both green and brown forms.  The occurrence of multiple forms seems to be found in many grasshopper species. 

As a child, I always seemed to have a few pet grasshoppers hidden around the house.  When viewed in hand, grasshoppers always had the most interesting detailed markings and facial expressions.  Add to that the difficulty in catching a grasshopper by hand and you have a creature that made a perfect companion for an active youth.

My interest in grasshoppers actually got me into trouble one spring day when I was in the sixth grade.  My teacher was explaining insect development and was displaying a poster with the standard progression of grasshopper from egg to adult.  She explained that the eggs hatched in the spring and the grasshopper proceeded through its various growth stages until it became a winged adult in the fall.  When I asked why there were winged adults in the school yard right now, which happened to be early April, she told me I was wrong.  A short argument ended with my departing the classroom on the way out of the school to catch an adult grasshopper.  I never made it out of the building, but I did get to share my views on grasshoppers with the Principal and he shared his views on not causing trouble with me.

The fact is that many grasshoppers overwinter as a nymph.  Their transformation to adult is accomplished in early spring.  The Northern Green-striped Grasshopper follows that schedule, so they come into spring in this stage and go through their final molt soon after becoming active.

Warm days full of grasshoppers always remind me of my early life.  I don’t know what species I was catching back then, but I’m sure this was one of them.  It’s nice to be able to put a name to some of my old friends.

Grasshopper Camouflage

I found this little grasshopper nymph out in the barrens. It looks like it would make a wonderful gargoyle atop some old building. The coloration of the grasshopper perfectly matches the barrens substrate.

From even a short distance, the grasshopper becomes impossible to see. As long as it doesn’t move, I would imagine it safe from most aerial predators.

I first noticed it while it sat on some of the dried grass. It’s fairly easy to see against the monocolor background of the grass leaves. It jumped a short distance onto the gravelly soil and disappeared. I scanned over it several times before seeing it again.

I just started dabbling in grasshopper ID last summer and am not sure what species this represents. There are a couple of species that seem to limit themselves to the barrens, so I guess I should spend some time identifying them this summer.

It appeared to be grazing some of the greenery from the rocks. There aren’t many plants growing yet on the barrens. There must be plenty to eat since the grasshopper seems to be perfectly healthy.