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Photo#17615
Pygmy Grasshopper--Ovipositing? - Tettigidea lateralis

Pygmy Grasshopper--Ovipositing? - Tettigidea lateralis
Horton's Pond, Chatham County, North Carolina, USA
May 7, 2005
Size: circa 15 mm
I saw this Pygmy Grasshopper perched on a stick in a muddy puddle, half of its body submerged. I took one photo, and, assuming it was stuck and would drown, reached over to rescue it. The grasshopper flew off quite handily. Later I found out that this family sometimes "reproduces underwater", according to Insects of Cedar Creek. Oh my goodness, what strange behavior for a grasshopper! I'm guessing this individual is a female that has been ovipositing on the stick.

I had originally discarded this photo, since it's not great, and even formatted the compact flash card. (I thought the presence of the grasshopper in the water was a fluke.) Luckily I was able to recover the file with a utility.

Tettigidea lateralis
Can't tell what it's doing, can't even tell if male or female for sure, but they certainly do like wet places. Good swimmers in fact.

Moved from Pygmy Grasshoppers.

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