Acrididae

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Trimerotropis verruculata suffusa “Crackling Forest Grasshopper” Acrididae

Mt. Sentinel, Lolo National Forest, MT
September 12, 2015
Robert Niese

BugGuide has become an indispensable resource for all my insect identification needs, but rarely do I come across pages so eloquently and comprehensively written as those by David Ferguson. His passion for band-winged grasshoppers makes these entries a joy to read:

“T. verruculata suffusa is one of the most common and conspicuous Band-wing Grasshoppers in open pine forests of the Rockies and Sierras, where it can be seen (and heard) on most any warm summer or autumn day. The “crepitation” produced in flight is a relatively loud crackling sound, and sometimes males will hover and crackle for several seconds at a time. Never is it so loud and conspicuous as Circotettix species (to which it is related and similar), but nearly so.”

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Trimerotropis fontana “Fontana Band-winged Grasshopper” Acrididae

Missoula, MT
September 3, 2013
Robert Niese

The hills around Missoula are absolutely flush with grasshoppers in the late summer. On our collecting trip this particular September, we caught nine or ten different species in an hour! Trimerotropis is North America’s most speciose genus of Band-winged Grasshoppers and we regularly catch three species in our area. For ID information regarding this highly abundant genus, check out David Ferguson’s descriptions in BugGuide.

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Melanoplus bivittatus bivittatus “Two-striped Grasshopper” Acrididae

Missoula, MT
September 2, 2013
Robert Niese

The Two-striped Grasshopper can be found throughout North America and can be quite variable morphologically. In drier regions here in the PNW, M. bivittatus bivittatus tends to be a dull yellow-brown color with blueish legs. In wetter, coastal regions, M. bivittatus femoratus will be green with red legs. Throughout the Northwest however, these grasshoppers are abundant and often found in gardens and vacant lots around town.