Montana Field Guide

The following is taken from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), Bland (2003), Capinera et al. (2004), Brust et al. (2008), and Scott (2010). A large, ashy-brown to gray grasshopper with limited large dark spots on the tegmina (forewings) and the anterior base being entirely dark. When the wings are folded, the dorsal field has broad converging pale stripes. In some individuals the entire surface can be pale. The dorsal surface of the pronotum (thorax) is flat, granulated with a few small tubercles. The median carina (ridge) is low, distinct, and incised forward of the middle by the main sulcus (groove), the lateral margins often form distinct ridges. The hind wing disk is rosy to red, bordered with a black band and a long anterior spur extending nearly to the wing base. The inner face of the hind femur is yellow to orangish with two to three black bands and a black crescent at the knee. The hind tibia is yellow.

Communicative behavior/Crepitation*
This species does not crepitate but does perform flight displays in which the males flash their red hindwings, making about 2 displays in 30 seconds, for a distance of 8-10 feet and two feet above the ground (Otte 1970, 1984, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).

*Crepitation is the sound produced by grasshoppers making a clicking or snapping noise with their wings when in flight, during courtship, territorial encounters or being disturbed.

This species overwinters in the 4th or 5th nymphal stage from eggs laid and hatched the previous year in late-summer and autumn. Adults appear in late May to July, when they disappear (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and the BugGuide website).

The following comes from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), Bland (2003), Capinera et al. (2004), Brust et al. (2008), and Scott (2010). The body length to end of forewings is 32-42 mm for males, and for females 42-58 mm. The wings extend beyond the abdominal tip (the specimen pictured in this field guide is a female with eggs causing the abdomen to extend beyond the tegmina tip).

The Coral-winged Grasshopper can be confused with its congener, Haldeman’s Grasshopper (Pardalophora haldemanii), but that species is heavily spotted, whereas the basal area of the tegmina of P. apiculata is entirely dark and the presence of black markings on the inner face of the hind femur easily separate the two species (Otte 1984).

This species inhabits pine and spruce forest clearings and park lands, preferably on sites with sandy soils (Brooks 1958, Otte 1984, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).

Little is known but seems to prefer grasses and sedges in the genera’s of Agropyron, Poa, and Carex plus, some forbs such as dandelion (Brooks 1958, and Brust et al. 2008).

During courtship, males perform two types of stridulation: Type 1 stridulation consists of 1 to 4 strokes with both femora. Type 2 consists of a rapid series of strokes with one femur, producing stridulatory bursts of 4 to 18 pulses. Sound is sometimes produced on both up and down strokes. When several bursts occur in succession, the left and right femurs are sometimes alternated to produce the sound. The signals are given by the stationary male before approaching the female. An attracted female spreads her hind femora away from her abdomen, lowers them to the ground, vibrates and turns her abdomen toward the courting male, allowing him to mount and copulate. Copulation last from 1-2 hours; upon completion, they depart. No further observations have been reported in the literature relative to oviposition, egg pods, etc. The nymphs pass through 5 instar stages before reaching the adult stage. This species has a life cycle of two years, passing the first winter in the egg stage, and the second winter in the 4th or 5th nymphal stage (Otte 1984, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).