Common name - Platt range grasshopper (Heifer, 1972).
Geographic distribution - in Colorado it is found primarily in the southwestern foothills and eastern plains (Gillette, 1904; Hebard, 1929).
Habitat - tall sparse grass on rocky hilltops, hillsides or on outcrops with scattered trees. Found from 5,000 to 6,000 ft elevation (Hebard, 1931; Tinkham, 1948).
Food habits - has been observed feeding on fourwing salt bush (Kumar et al., 1976).
Adult - medium size. General color is brown. Head is large. Eyes
are rather small. Face is vertical. Dark band runs across face below antennae.
Vertex is rounded and with ridges. Antennae are slender. Dorsal posterior
margin of pronotum is a right angle. Lateral lobes of pronotum have curved
dark bands. Median carina of pronotum is moderately high with two deep
notches. Tegmina and wings are long. Tegmina have two broad, black bands
that often fade posteriorly. Wings are yellow or pink with a spurred black
band and a clear apex. Hind tibiae are yellow-brown or blue. Male length,
25 mm, female 28 mm (Ball et al., 1942; Scudder, 1876).
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| Head and pronotum (Side view) |
Seasonal history - adults are present during August and September (Ball et al., 1942).
Abundance and importance - rather common on the eastern Colorado plains (Gillette, 1904).
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Biology of Common Colorado Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers of Colorado Contents