Family: Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers view all from this family

Description 2-2 3/4" (50-70 mm). Short winged. Hind wings pink to red with black borders. Two different color forms: either dull straw-yellow with black markings and, in the South, a reddish stripe on fore wing; or mostly black with a yellow stripe around edges of pronotum, along back ridge, and on rear edge of abdominal segments.

Food Herbaceous plants of many kinds.

Life Cycle Eggs are pressed into soft soil. Nymphs usually emerge in early spring. Adults often appear in June and are active through November.

Habitat Roadsides, field edges, and gardens.

Range North Carolina to Florida, west to Louisiana, northeast to Tennessee.

Discussion This slow-moving grasshopper cannot fly. When handled, it gives off a foul-smelling liquid, perhaps to repel predators. Its spiny hind tibiae can cut human skin.