''Melanoplus bispinosus'', the two-spined spurthroated grasshopper, is a species of

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

belonging to the genus ''

Melanoplus __NOTOC__ ''Melanoplus'' is a large genus of grasshoppers. They are the typical large grasshoppers (and in some cases migratory " locusts") in North America. A common name is spur-throat grasshoppers (also "spurthroat" or "spur-throated grasshopp ...

.'' This grasshopper is native to the United States.

Distribution and habitat

''Melanoplus bispinosus'' is commonly found in the southeastern United States, in states such as Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. This grasshopper can be found in woody habitats, but it is associated more with open and disturbed areas. These disturbed areas are usually found in roadside areas or fields in the first stage of

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire) or more or less. Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as ca ...

. These areas are typically dominated by grasses and forbs. Adults can be found throughout the summer and into the fall.

Diet

These grasshoppers are mixed feeders, so their diet consists mainly of grasses and forbs, which are readily available in their habitat.

Identification

This grasshopper is medium-sized and is a grayish-brown to reddish-brown color. There is a dark stripe that extends from the eye to the lateral lobe of the pronotum. There is a row of dark spots on the forewing that extends to the top of the abdomen. The hind femora (third segment of leg) have large dark spots or bands and the hind tibiae (fourth segment of leg) is blue or blue-green. The body length of a male is approximately 24.5 mm and a female is approximately 31.5 mm. This grasshopper gets its name from the presence of a large spine-like furcula. In males, the extensions of the furcula extend to one-half the length of the supra-anal plate and are slightly divergent. The cerci are elongated, narrow in the middle, and rounded at the end.

References

External links

Two-Spined Spurthroated Grasshopper
BugGuide {{Taxonbar, from=Q10580556 Melanoplinae