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The Red-Legged Grasshopper are primary consumers in the food web. The feast on crops and are food for hungry fowl.
The Red-Legged Grasshopper flies as part of a swarm and, when they land on crops, they can decimate the field leaving the farmer with nothing to sell. Soybeans, alfalfa, wheat, barley and other grains are all part of this species' diet. For this reason, they are considered an agricultural pest. They are found in wild, natural settings also, but their appetite for human produce has gained them a reputation.
In addition to their negative impact on the food harvest, Red-Legged Grasshoppers can carry immature tapeworms and other wild bird parasites inside them. When a quail or wild turkey eats infected ones, those tapeworms and parasites can transfer to the bird's bloodstream and grow, thereby infecting the bird. Grasshoppers have natural enemies that help control their population in the wild. They can die from fungal or bacterial infections as well as from parasitic nematodes.
Females lay their fertilized eggs in soil. The numerous eggs hatch in the following spring and the nymphs start to feed. They will be full-grown adults in about 3 months and can remain active until that coming winter. If the spring season sees heavy rainfall, many eggs won't hatch. Dry springs, on the other hand beget large outbreaks that are difficult to control.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Orthoptera
Family:Acrididae
Genus:Melanoplus
Species:femurrubrum
Identifying Information
Scientific Name: Melanoplus femurrubrum
Other Name(s): Red-Legged Locust
Category:
Grasshopper or Cricket
Size (Adult; Length): 15mm to 35mm (0.59in to 1.37in)
Colors: brown, black, white, red, pink, green, tan
Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed above as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.
Colors: brown, black, white, red, pink, green, tan
