Sure looks like the same species! Thank you! This little guy (or gal--how do you tell the difference between male and female?) was very patient with me and let me get very close so I could take numerous photos.

you can tell by the ovipositor, "stinger" like projection off the back end. Males don't have them.

thank you very much! now I know!

Male Scudderia appear at first glance to have an ovipositor, with another appendage above it. The configuration of that projecting upper plate is the only way to identify a specimen to species. Females, usually, must be associated with a male to determine species. This one could be S. furcata or S. mexicana, both of which should occur in your area.

so we need a male to determine this. what differences in the upper plate might I see between the mexicana and furcata male?

is mexicana seen more frequently in S. California than furcata?