About Schistocerca nitens

Schistocerca nitens is a species of grasshopper known by several names, including vagrant grasshopper and gray bird grasshopper. It is a close relative of the desert locust, which is in the same genus. This grasshopper is native to southern North America including Mexico and the south-western United States from California to Texas. Vagrants are occasionally found in Colorado and Nebraska, where the climate is too cold for them to reproduce, otherwise. It is also present in parts of Central and South America. It lives in many habitats including desert, woodland, and lower elevation mountainous areas. It is a large grasshopper, reaching lengths of 4 to 7 centimeters. It is mostly brown and gray spotted or patched in cryptic coloration. This species is known as a pest on ornamental plants and many types of crop plants.

Picture credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (Image source) Taxonomy ID 7011

(Text from Wikipedia.)

More information General information about this species can be found in Wikipedia

Taxonomy ID 7011

Data source Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute (BPRI), Texas A&M University

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