For more species not pictured here, see the List
of Fact Sheets from Dr. Pfadt's Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers.
The background colors associated with the above pictures are indicative
of the subfamily to which each species belongs. The "brown" species are
the Melanoplinae, or spur-throated grasshoppers, which have a spur or tooth-like
projection on their "chest," between the front pair of legs and behind
the mouthparts. The "green" species are the Gomphocerinae, or slant-faced
grasshoppers. They do not have a spur between their legs, and usually their
head is either strongly pointed or overly large in comparison to the body.
The "blue" species are the Oedipodinae, or band-winged grasshoppers. These
species also do not have a spur between their legs, and their heads are
never pointed and usually sized in proportion to their body. Typically
they are well camouflaged, and many have at least a small ridge down the
midline of their back (pronotum). This background color scheme is used
in the List of Fact Sheets as well as throughout
this entire website. So if you can classify your grasshopper into one of
these subfamilies your search can be narrowed.
