Stats

Lifespan

A few months

Size

Large

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Hopping

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A stout yellow-and-black grasshopper of North American grasslands and croplands, named for the bold black herringbone chevrons stamped along its powerful jumping legs. In hot summers it can swarm in numbers dense enough to strip a cornfield.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Orthoptera

Family

Acrididae

Genus

Melanoplus

Species

Melanoplus differentialis