Now it is necessary to determine whether the grasshopper is an adult
or a nymph. Adults have fully formed wings which often extend to or beyond
the end of the abdomen, and often fly away when approached. Grasshoppers
develop gradually through 4-6 nymphal stages (instars), all of which are
characterized by different states of partial wing development. Within a
species, each subsequent instar is larger than the one before. But size
is not a reliable indicator of age because species and sexes can be very
different in size at the same instar, and late instars of some species
can be larger than adults of other species. The following nymphal pictures
are all of 3rd instars.
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