Montana Field Guide

The following comes from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1981), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Vickery and Kevan (1985), McDaniel (1987), Pfadt (2002), Capinera et al. (2004), and Scott (2010). A small to medium slender grasshopper. The body is brownish dorsally and either brown or green laterally. The abdomen is yellowish with black patches on the side. The wings (tegmina) are grayish or yellowish, broadly rounded at the tip, and variable in length. Generally, female wings are short, covering half to three-fourths of the abdomen. Male wings usually reach to, or slightly beyond the tip.

Overwinters in the egg stage. Eggs hatch in June and adults occur from July through September (Capinera et al. 2004, Capinera and Sechrist 1982, Otte 1984, Pfadt 2002, Scott 2010, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).

The following comes from Hebard (1928), Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1981), Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Vickery (1985), McDaniel (1987), Pfadt (2002), Capinera et al. (2004), and Scott (2010). The male body length is 12 mm to 20 mm and females 20 mm to 35 mm. The antennae are long, yellow at the base and merging to black at the tip. Outer face of the hind femur is not banded, but often bears a dark stripe and the knee is black. Hind tibia is yellow or orange.

Easily confused with Club-horned Grasshopper (Aeropedellus clavatus), but its filiform antennae distinguish it from that species. Chorthippis is a large genus worldwide, with 70 to 80 species recognized in Europe and Asia. C. curtipennis is the only species in North America (Brust et al. 2008).

Inhabits areas of tall lush grasses in hayfields, pastures, swales, mountain meadows, edges of marshes, lakes and ponds up to elevations of 11,000 feet. Also occurs in arctic tundra (Capinera et al. 2004, Capinera and Sechrist 1982, Otte 1984, Pfadt 2002, and Vickery and Kevan 1985).

Feeds only on grasses and sedges. Its diet varies with the plant species growing in its habitat, consisting of 16 species of grasses and sedges (Pfadt 2002).

The following is taken from Capinera and Sechrist (1982), Otte (1984), Pfadt (2002), and Vickery and Kevan (1985). Males sing (stridulate) to attract females. Females either approach calling males or stridulate in response, causing the males to approach them. After mounting a female, the copulation lasts about 30 minutes. Pods, consisting of 5 to 8 eggs, are laid in or near clumps of grass and sometimes in decaying wood. When eggs hatch, the nymphs pass through 4 instars before reaching the adult stage. There is usually a one-year cycle, but in mountain meadows and higher latitudes incubation may require up to three years before hatching.