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Grasshopper

Melanoplus differentialis

Published on Project Noah
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40.0079, -104.817

Field Notes

Description:

Size: Females: 1 to 1.5 inches long; Males: Up to 2 inches long.

Lifespan: Once adults, grasshoppers can live 2-3 months, depending on the weather and other circumstances. Many grasshoppers are killed off by pesticides used by farmers to protect their crops.

Habitat:

Region: Mexico, United States and Canada.

Diet: Plants, including weeds, clovers, grasses, crops and fruit.

Reproduction: Late summer to early fall. Egg masses are about 1 inch long, with about 25 eggs per sack. Females may lay up to 8 sacks of eggs.
Eggs hatched following spring, and the babies are known as 'nymphs'. Nymphs do not look like adult grasshoppers, and it will shed its skin 6 times in 2 months in order to grow into its adult body.

Places most likely to see them: Gardens, open fields, farms, and by bodies of water such as lakes and rivers during July through October.

Notes:

Found it walking upside down on some weeds, in what used to be a garden. (Colorado)

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (1)

Please consider adding this spotting to the Grasshoppers of Colorado mission: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/16857665 Thank you!

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