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Melanoplus differentialis
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.
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.
Found it walking upside down on some weeds, in what used to be a garden. (Colorado)
Spotted on Aug 14, 2011
Submitted on Jul 13, 2012
1 Comment
Please consider adding this spotting to the Grasshoppers of Colorado mission:
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1685...
Thank you!