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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Grasshoppers (Caelifera) » Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae) » Spur-throated Grasshoppers (Melanoplinae) » Dactylotini » Dactylotum » Rainbow Grasshopper (Dactylotum bicolor)

Species Dactylotum bicolor - Rainbow Grasshopper

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Grasshopper - Dactylotum bicolor Colorful grasshopper - Dactylotum bicolor - female Rainbow Grasshopper - Dactylotum bicolor - male Dactylotum sp - Dactylotum bicolor - female Dactylotum bicolor - female Dactylotum bicolor - female Dactylotum bicolor - female Dactylotum bicolor - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Suborder Caelifera (Grasshoppers)
Family Acrididae (Short-horned Grasshoppers)
Subfamily Melanoplinae (Spur-throated Grasshoppers)
Tribe Dactylotini
Genus Dactylotum
Species bicolor (Rainbow Grasshopper)
Other Common Names
Painted Grasshopper, Pictured Grasshopper, Barber Pole Grasshopper, Uncle Sam
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Dactylotum variegatum, Dactylotum pictum. Latter is sometimes listed as a separate species.
Size
20 mm (males), 35 mm (females)
Identification
Bold color pattern is distinctive. Hind tibiae are spiny. Wings are small.
Range
Western Great Plains of United States (and southern Canada), southward to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and into northern Mexico.
Habitat
Shortgrass praire, sparsely vegetated areas, alfalfa fields, desert grasslands.
Season
Generally August-September. June-October (New Mexico).
Food
Various low-growing forbs, some grasses(?). Rarely attacks crops.
Life Cycle
Female deposits eggs in soft soil in masses of about 100 eggs. She may lay up to twelve batches. Eggs overwinter and hatch late, usually later spring or early summer, so adults are present in late summer and into early fall. One generation per year.
Print References
Capinera p. 111, plate 22 (1)
Helfer pp. 197-198, fig. 319 (2)
Milne, pp. 418-419, fig. 259 (3)
Arnett and Jacques #21 (4)
Salsbury, p. 68 (5)
Internet References
Grasshoppers of Colorado
Forestry Images
Orthoptera of the Northern Great Plains
Grasshoppers of New Mexico
Works Cited
1.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press.
2.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.
3.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
4.Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects
Dr. Ross H. Arnett, Dr. Richard L. Jacques. 1981. Fireside.
5.Insects in Kansas
Glenn A. Salsbury and Stephan C. White. 2000. Kansas Dept. of Agriculture.
Contributed by Cotinis on 14 September, 2005 - 9:04am
Additional contributions by David Ferguson
Last updated 8 August, 2009 - 7:49pm

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