Differential Grasshopper - Las Animas County CO - September 2018
Photographed at JE Canyon Ranch. This hefty Melanoplus grasshopper occurs across much of the US, s. Canada and south into Mexico.
From U of WY Factsheet:
The differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis (Thomas), ranges widely in North America. Originally restricted to tall herbaceous vegetation growing in wet meadows, swales, and creek bottom lands, the species spread into the weedy vegetation of crop borders, roadsides, and reversions brought about by settlement and agricultural development. In the United States large populations develop in extensive areas of cropland located between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. Populations east and west of these landmarks are spotty and discontinuous.
The differential grasshopper is a severe pest of crops including small grains, corn, alfalfa, soybeans, cotton, various vegetables, and deciduous fruit trees. A dense swarm will destroy a young cornfield in just three or four days.
Differential Grasshopper - Las Animas County CO - September 2018
Photographed at JE Canyon Ranch. This hefty Melanoplus grasshopper occurs across much of the US, s. Canada and south into Mexico.
From U of WY Factsheet:
The differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis (Thomas), ranges widely in North America. Originally restricted to tall herbaceous vegetation growing in wet meadows, swales, and creek bottom lands, the species spread into the weedy vegetation of crop borders, roadsides, and reversions brought about by settlement and agricultural development. In the United States large populations develop in extensive areas of cropland located between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. Populations east and west of these landmarks are spotty and discontinuous.
The differential grasshopper is a severe pest of crops including small grains, corn, alfalfa, soybeans, cotton, various vegetables, and deciduous fruit trees. A dense swarm will destroy a young cornfield in just three or four days.