Montana Field Guide

The following is taken from Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), McDaniel (1987), Capinera et al. (2004), and Scott (2010). All males in the genus Cicotettix are readily recognized in the field by their loud crepitating*, display flights, and hovering in one place high above the ground for several minutes.
The Carlinian Snapper Grasshopper is robust and large. The wings extend beyond the abdominal tip. Its body color is brown with dark speckling and weak transverse bands crossing the forewings and outer face of the hind femur, but can vary to reddish or light gray, which is often influenced by its habitat ground surface color. The hind wings are largely clear, but possess thickened black veins, with smokey-black tinge basally. The inner face of the femur is black with two cream rings and dorsal ridge marking. Most of the early literature, before 1984, places this species in the genus Aerochoreutes.

Communicative behavior/crepitation
Males perform dramatic flight displays by hovering over one spot, loudly crepitating their wings, ascending and descending up-and-down, then dropping to the ground. Observations and analysis of the flights have been reported by Daniel Otte: “Crepitation was produced in bursts of two lengths: long bursts ( 0.75-1.25 seconds); interspersed with one to three very short bursts (about 0.07 seconds). One entire flight consisted of eight long bursts and lasted 15 seconds. The interval between successive long bursts was about 0.25 seconds. During each long burst males ascend, and during silent intervals they descend, thus producing a continuous up-and-down dancing movement. At the end of flight males alighted on the ground within a few feet of their starting points.” They will hover aloft 25 to 50 feet above the ground (Brooks 1958, 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. Adults occur from July to mid-September (Vickery and Kevan 1985, Scott 2010).

The following comes from Brooks (1958), Helfer (1971), Otte (1984), Vickery and Kevan (1985), McDaniel (1987), Capinera et al. (2004), and Scott (2010). The body length of males is 29-40 mm, and for females 33-46 mm.

In Montana, the Carlinian Snapper Grasshopper can visually and by crepitation be confused with any of the other two Circotettix species, the Undulant-winged Grasshopper (Circotettix undulatus) and the Wrangler Grasshopper (Circotettix rabula), as well as the Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira Carolina) and Crackling Forest Grasshopper (Trimerotropis verruculata).

Inhabits open dry prairies and grasslands, along roads, sagebrush steppe, talus slopes, wheat stubble fields and other open areas with a mix of sparse vegetation and bare ground (Otte 1984, Vickery and Kevan 1985, and Capinera et al. 2004).

This species is a mixed grass-feeder, preferring Western Wheatgrass (Elymus smithii). It will occasionally consume some forbs (Brooks 1958).

No detailed studies have been found in the literature relative to courtship and mating for this species beyond the male flight displays (refer to section on Communicative behavior/crepitation).