The following is taken from Hebard (1928), Helfer (1971), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), and Scott (2010). This medium size grasshopper is a highly variable species. Its body color can be light brown, light gray, dark brown or dark gray, to nearly black in some individuals. Others can be contrastingly marked as in
Masked Grasshopper (
Trimerotropis cincta). The median carina (ridge) of the pronotum (thorax) is prominent, cut by 2 sulci (grooves). The anterior cut being shallow, the posterior sulci deeply cut. The pronotum can be laterally marked with light and dark areas. The tegmina (forewings) has 2-3 dark bands on its lateral surface, some can be quite distinct, others can have faint edges and the posterior third band often fades into the clear, dark-spotted, posterior apex of the forewing. The hindwing disk can be almost transparent to pale yellow or greenish yellow, the black band is narrow, irregular with the spur reaching halfway to the wing base, the distal area varies from transparent to smokey. The inner face of the hind femur is pale with 3 black rings and knee, the anterior and middle rings sometimes united with a solid rectangular black marking in the femur’s median surface. The hind tibia is blue, with a distinct pale prebasal ring and black base.
Communicative behavior/Crepitation* Crepitation occurs only in disturbance flights. In courtship, the males perform femur-shaking, producing a low-pitched humming sound, the only signal used in this species. Neither the substrate nor the forewings are struck. In male-to-male aggression encounters, only femur-tipping occurs (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 egg stage. Hatching and nymph dates are currently unknown. Adults occur from mid-June to mid-October. Heavy autumn frosts appear to have little effect on its population declines (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Scott 2010).
The body length to the tip of forewings is 22-29 mm for males, and 30-38 mm for females (Hebard 1928, Helfer 1971, Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Scott 2010).
This species can be confused with
Masked Grasshopper (
Trimerotropis cincta) and in its almost black form with the
Crackling Forest Grasshopper (
Trimerotropis verruculata).
Inhabits open, sunny areas on slopes, openings in woodlands, roadsides, sagebrush steppe and almost any other dry, hilly habitats (Otte 1984, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).
The Fontana Grasshopper is considered a mixed feeder, consuming grasses and forbs. No preferred specific plant species nor other food items have been noted in the literature (Vickery and Kevan 1985).
Unknown.
