Melanoplus differentialis

Identifying Features

Differential grasshoppers are 1-2" long. Their bodies are green to brown with yellow and they have a glossy appearance. They have large, striped, hind legs, clear wings, short antennae, and large eyes.

Habitat & Range

These grasshopers live in fields, grasslands, and open forests across much of the United States, into Southern Canada, and Northern Mexico.

Behavior

They feed off of plants, and create a scraping trill noise.

Life Cycle

Eggs hatch in late spring after overwintering in the ground. They breed in early summer.

Featured image by James Dake