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

Description 1 5/8-2 1/8" (40-55 mm). Brown and beige along back and sides with brownish-yellow midline stripe. Yellow on sides and underneath prothorax. Hind wings clear, hind femora without crossbands, tibiae brownish red.

Food Grasses, other herbaceous plants, tree leaves.

Sound Whistling buzz of wings in flight.

Life Cycle Eggs are laid in a mass in soil. Nymphs work their way to the surface. Cool weather reduces activity and growth in temperate regions.

Habitat Grasslands and forest edges.

Range Florida to Mexico year-round; north to Ontario and southern parts of Canadian prairie provinces in summer only.

Discussion A particularly alert insect, the American Bird Grasshopper will fly into a tall tree if disturbed. It cannot tolerate heat, migrating north in summer.