Montana Field Guide

The following is taken from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), McDaniel (1987), Richman et al. (1993), Brust et al. (2008), and Scott (2010). This medium-sized grasshopper is light brown to light gray with two dark, well defined crossbands on the tegmina (forewings). The apical third is grayish or clear, but sometimes with a few dark spots. The hind wing is rather broad, and the disk is pale yellow, bordered with a somewhat black band with a thick, stubby spur extending less than halfway to the base. The wing apex is clear. The carina (ridge) on the pronotum (thorax) is very low or obsolete, as are the sulci (grooves). The outer face of the hind femur is pale or light gray with one moderately prominent black band. The hind femur inner face is variable, but commonly entirely reddish yellow with a prominent black band at the apical third which is continuous with the outer face band. The hind tibia is red.

Communicative behavior/Crepitation*
This species is a moderately strong and erratic flier which circles back to its takeoff point, crepitating with a brief, but loud, crackling sound. No other communicative behaviors have been reported (Otte 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. Nymphs occur in spring (no exact date reported). Adults occur from July to September and sometimes into October (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Scott 2010).

The following comes from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), McDaniel (1987), Richman et al. (1993), Brust et al. (2008), and Scott (2010). The body length to tip of forewings for males is 21-30 mm, and 26-36 mm for females.

In Montana, this species can be easily confused with Broad-banded Grasshopper (T. latifasciata), but differs from that species with the second tegmina band lining up with the dark band on the hind femur. It can also be confused with Three-banded Grasshopper (Hadrotettix trifasciatus) which is a weak flier, by comparison, for only short distances (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Scott 2010).

The Barren Land Grasshopper inhabits dry, gravelly plains and eroded hillsides with sparse vegetation (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Brust et al. 2008).

This is a mixed feeder of grasses and forbs with a preference for milkvetches, Astragalus sp. and Fine-leaved Hymenopappus (Hymenopappus filifolius) (Capinera and Sechrist 1982, Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Brust et al. 2008).

Nymphs pass through 5 instars before reaching the adult stage. Eggs are deposited in bare soil, and the egg pods contain 12 tan, turning black, eggs, which measure 5.6 mm long by 1.3 mm in diameter. No other courtship and mating habits are known (Capinera and Sechrist 1982).