Gray Bird Grasshopper
Schistocerca nitens
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 yr
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Desert
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
One of the largest grasshoppers in North America, the gray bird grasshopper can sustain long migratory flights — and when it spreads its wings, the hind pair flashes bright yellow, briefly making it look like an entirely different insect.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
- 2.juvenileAn immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
- 3.subadultA near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
- 4.adultFully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Orthoptera
- Family
- Acrididae
- Genus
- Schistocerca
- Species
- Schistocerca nitens