''Tropidacris cristata'', the giant red-winged grasshopper, is a widespread species of lubber grasshopper in the family

Romaleidae The Romaleidae or lubber grasshoppers are a family of grasshoppers, based on the type genus ''Romalea''. The species in this family can be found in the Americas. Tribes and selected genera The Orthoptera Species File Online database lists two s ...

from tropical South and Central America, and Mexico. It is among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to and respectively. More typical adult lengths are , average , in males and , average , in females. As suggested by the common name, adult ''T. cristata'' have conspicuously red wings in flight, although the exact red hue varies. The flightless and gregarious nymphs have aposematic dark-and-yellow stripes and are presumed to be toxic. ''T. cristata'' occurs in a wide range of habitats, both in lowlands and highlands. In the southern part of its distribution, it is largely restricted to humid and semi-humid forested regions, avoiding places that are open and dry, but in the northern part it also occurs in somewhat drier habitats. It is generally quite common, although the blue-winged '' T. collaris'' often is more common where their ranges overlap in South America (only ''T. cristata'' is found in some parts of northwestern South America and in Central America). ''T. cristata'' feeds on many types of plants and occasionally it is regarded as a

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

. The lifecycle is annual with overlapping generations, but in some regions there is a level of seasonality in the occurrence of adults and nymphs. The female lays an egg sac that contains up to 100 eggs in the soil.

Subspecies

There are three

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''Tropidacris cristata'': * ''Tropidacris cristata cristata'' ( Linnaeus, 1758) – central and northern South America (west of the Andes south to Ecuador, east of the Andes south to the Cerrado region), southern Central America (

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and Panama), and Trinidad and Tobago * ''Tropidacris cristata dux'' ( Drury, 1770) – Mexico and Central America (south to Nicaragua) * ''Tropidacris cristata grandis'' ( Thunberg, 1824) – south-central South America (northernmost Argentina, Uruguay, easternmost Paraguay, and southern and southeastern Brazil; a few records from the Amazon, which typically is inhabited by ''T. c. cristata'') File:Tropidacris cristata MtPine.jpg, All three subspecies vary in colors, but ''T. c. dux'' commonly is quite yellowish File:Giant Grasshopper (Tropidacris cristata) (36316477160).jpg, The red wings typical of this species

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10287970 Romaleidae Insects described in 1758