Species Trimerotropis melanoptera - Black-winged Grasshopper

Trimerotropis melanoptera McNeill, 1901, described from Silver City, New Mexico

Pseudotrimerotropis melanoptera Kirby, 1910

The name "melanoptera" refers to the largely black wings.

Only likely to be confused with Trimerotropis latifasciata (see comments under that species).

The reddish abdomen and underside, and the broad black band that nearly dominates the otherwise pale wings are distinctive features.

Resembles Spharagemon equale rather closely with wings folded, but it is a bit more slender, the top of the pronotum is less "roof-like" and more flat, the median ridge on the pronotum is lower, and the hind wing coloration is quite different.

Like T. latifasciata and several Spharagemon species, this one has an attractive "collared" form in which the rear half of the pronotum, face and sides of head, and bands across legs can be pale pinkish, tan, or nearly white.

Short-grass steppe regions. Roughly south of the North Platte River in se. Wyoming and sw. Nebraska, southward across e. Colorado e. New Mexico, westernmost Kansas, Oklahoma Panhandle, and Western Texas, and across much of the upland interior of Mexico. West across southern New Mexico and northwest Chihuahua to south-central Arizona and north-central Sonora.

Usually in valley bottoms and flats on bare silty, eroded, tilled, or slightly saline soils, usually with sparse grass cover. Often found gathered in large numbers on relatively level disturbed bare patches such as around cattle watering ponds or tanks, ant hills, Prairie Dog towns, tops of gentle dirt banks along roads or arroyos, etc.

Overwinters as eggs. Adults summer to frost, but usually most common in July or August.

One of the most striking species of grasshoppers in North America, often very abundant, and yet for some reason not often noticed, perhaps because people tend not to frequent its prefered dusty habitats. It sometimes turns up on athletic fields and vacant lots in towns, perhaps because they resemble it's habitat, and because it is often attracted to bright lights.

It has a tendency to "stand tall" and display it's reddish abdomen, a behavior that is apparently not studied yet.

It is an alert, highly active species, rather difficult to catch and to photograph. It is noisy in flight, producing a loud harsh interrupted buzzing ("pulse buzz").

Apparently closely related to T. latifasciata, and also apparently to Spharagemon.