Explanation of Names
Species name "phoenicoptera" refers to color of wings, from phoenico- Greek Phoenecian, plus Greek ptera wing. Phoenecia was a civilization famous and synonymous with a brilliant purple-red dye, see
Wikipedia.
Size
Males: 36-42 mm, females: 45-55 mm
Identification
Large gray/brown, dark spots on forewings. Sometimes has green background color. Bright orange or pink on hindwing revealed only in flight.
Habitat
Old fields, meadows, open woodlands
Season
Spring (nymphs overwinter--adults present in spirng), into summer.
Life Cycle
Nymphs overwinter, adults present in spring, not typical of grasshoppers.
Remarks
Cryptic when at rest, spectacular in flight. Adults, when captured, vomit or exude a foul-smelling orange fluid. (P. Coin)
See Also
According to
David J. Ferguson's comment
here, The main distinction is that Xanthippus usually has the crest of the pronotum notched twice, and Pardalophora once.
Internet References
Grasshoppers of Florida,
(2) see section on
Band-winged Grasshoppers
Giff Beaton's page on Acrididae includes photos of this species.
Contributed by
Cotinis on 6 June, 2004 - 12:34am
Additional contributions by
Ted KropiewnickiLast updated 22 February, 2008 - 2:33pm
