graceful grasshopper
(Melanoplus gracilis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | N5 - Secure |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Graceful grasshopper is a small spur-throated grasshopper. There is a black lateral stripe behind the eye that continues across the upper thoracic shield (pronotum). The lower half of the pronotum is white. The abdomen has bold black markings. The wings are rounded, very short, and widely separated. They do not overlap over the back. The forelegs and midlegs are green. The third segment of the hind leg (femur) is green with no dark markings. |
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Size |
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Similar Species |
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Habitat |
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Shrubby areas of moderatley moist woodlands, thickets, old fields |
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Biology |
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Season |
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Mid July to early October |
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Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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Eggs overwinter |
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Nymph Food |
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Shoots and other easily digested parts of the same plants that adults feed on. |
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Adult Food |
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Leaves of grasses and grassy agricultural plants. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 9/4/2016 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Uncommon |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) | ||
Suborder |
Caelifera (grasshoppers, locusts, and allies) | ||
| Infraorder | Acrididea (grasshoppers) | ||
Superfamily |
Acridoidea (short-horned grasshoppers and locusts) | ||
Family |
Acrididae (short-horned grasshoppers) | ||
Subfamily |
Melanoplinae (spur-throated grasshoppers) | ||
Tribe |
Melanoplini | ||
Genus |
Melanoplus (North American spur-throated grasshoppers) | ||
Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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graceful grasshopper graceful narrow-winged locust graceful spur-throat grasshopper slender spur-throat grasshopper |
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Glossary
Femur
On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Visitor Sightings |
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| Cary Coop 9/19/2019 |
Location: Jabs farm site, Louisville swamp unit, Jordan, MN |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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