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Suborder Caelifera - Grasshoppers

Grasshopper with Red Legs - Melanoplus bivittatus - female

Admirable Grasshopper Nymph - Syrbula admirabilis

Olive-green Swamp Grasshopper - Paroxya clavuliger - male

Poecilotettix pantherinus - panther-spotted grasshopper - Poecilotettix pantherinus

Grasshopper - Acrididae? - Paroxya atlantica

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)

Suborder Caelifera (Grasshoppers)

Other Common Names

Short-horned Orthoptera

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Saltatoria Fieber 1852

Classification follows (1)

Explanation of Names

Caelifera Ander 1936

Numbers

~660 spp. in 5 families in our area (incl. ~620 spp. of Acrididae), close to 13,000 spp. in 27 families total(2)

Identification

back legs large, modified for jumping

antennae usually shorter than body, with fewer than 30 segments (>30 in Ensifera)

ovipositor short, w/4 valves (vs 6 in Ensifera)

auditory organ (tympanum), if present, is on the abdomen (on protibiae in Ensifera)

Keys in (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)

Food

almost exclusively plants

Remarks

The fungus Entomophaga grylli attacks grasshoppers and is used in biocontrol

Works Cited

1.	Orthoptera Species File Online

2.	Catalogue of Life

3.	The North American Grasshoppers, volume I, Acrididae, Gomphocerinae and Acridinae Daniel Otte. 1981. Harvard.

4.	The North American Grasshoppers, volume II, Acrididae, Oedipodinae Daniel Otte. 1984. Harvard.

5.	Brust M., Thurman J., Reuter C., Black L., Redford A.J. (2014) Grasshoppers of the Western U.S., Ed. 4

6.	Orthoptera of North-Eastern America W. S. Blatchley. 1920. The Nature Publishing Company.

7.	Key to the Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) of Florida Trevor Randall Smith, Jason G. Froeba, and John L. Capinera. 2004. Florida Entomologist, Vol. 87, No. 4.

8.	Synopsis of Orthoptera (sensu lato) of Alabama Matt E. Dakin, Jr., and Kirby L. Hays. 1970. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 404.

9.	Grasshoppers (Acrididae) of Colorado: identification, biology and management John L. Capinera, T. S. Sechrist. 1982. Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, 584S.

10.	Manual of the grasshoppers of New Mexico - Orthoptera: Acrididae and Romaleidae Richman D.B., Lightfoot D.C., Sutherland C.A., Ferguson D.J. 1993. NM State U. Coop. Ext. Service. 111 pp.

11.	The grasshoppers of Oklahoma (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Stanley Coppock Jr. 1962. Oklahoma State University.

12.	Guide to the Grasshoppers of Wisconsin Kathryn Kirk and Charles R. Bomar. 2005. Bureau of Integrated Science Services, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Contributed by Joel Kits on 1 May, 2005 - 7:41pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, David Ferguson, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 29 November, 2025 - 10:52pm

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