Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea microptera)

So, I don’t jump when I encounter a snake; I just stop and gasp quietly. However, when I encounter a grasshopper I startle and squeal. Well, you might too if it jumped just as you opened a car door and put your foot on the ground right beside it. It was a relief to see that it was only a grasshopper.

And that was how I encountered my first Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea microptera) by a culvert on the road south from Pond 2A in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County, Georgia last Saturday. Eastern Lubber Grasshopper is a flightless grasshopper – a male, I believe - that wanted to walk rather than hop. It covered ground fairly rapidly and only hopped when it had to.

From the right

From the left

From almost directly above

It made its way to a bush nearby and climbed to the top. I managed to coax it onto my hand for a close-up shot.

We spotted another landlubber climbing in a Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) plant across the road from this sighting. Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers (Romalea microptera) are found in the coastal states from North Carolina to eastern Texas. They may occur in large numbers and cause damage to crops.
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Distribution:
- University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology: Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea microptera)

Identification resources:
- BugGuide: Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea microptera)

Zen: Green On Green

I found this charming green grasshopper that had overnighted in a Dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) plant in the field. It was trying to decide if I was a threat – or not. I wasn’t.
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Grasshoppers: Melanoplus sp.

It’s interesting how little difference some sun and a couple of degrees in the air temperature can make.

On a recent walk on a fairly cold (45 F) day I saw only one grasshopper – no other insects at all. I think this is Melanoplus walshii.

A few days later, when the temperature was in the mid-50s F, I spooked several grasshoppers. Didn’t think I was going to get any photographs. But, at one point, noticed what I thought was grass sticking to my pants. When I looked down to brush it off, I found this grasshopper. It’s a Red-legged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum).
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Identification resource:
Bug Guide:
- Walsh's Short-wing Grasshopper (Melanoplus walshii)
- Red-legged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum)

False Katydid: Scudder's Bush Katydid (Scudderia sp.)

This Scudder’s Bush Katydid is one of the few larger insects at home now. It was hanging out in the butterfly bush last weekend.

When I approached it, it turned turned its back on me…

Then it hung upside down with its back towards me…

Then it hung upside down...

I’m not sure if this was a Fork-tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia furcata) or a Southeastern Bush Katydid (Scudderia cuneata). These photos don’t have the detail to identify it conclusively.
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Identification resource: BugGuide:
- Fork-tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia furcata)
- Southeastern Bush Katydid (Scudderia cuneata)