Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Grasshoppers (Caelifera) » Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae) » Slant-faced Grasshoppers (Gomphocerinae) » Gomphocerus Group » Aeropedellus » Club-horned Grasshopper (Aeropedellus clavatus)
Photo#703587
Purple Grasshopper with Small Wings - Aeropedellus clavatus - female
Copyright © 2012 Bob Webster

Purple Grasshopper with Small Wings - Aeropedellus clavatus - Female
Missouri Mountain, Chaffee County, Colorado, USA
September 13, 2012
It was at 13,000 ft elevation.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Bob Webster on 14 September, 2012 - 9:25am
Last updated 14 September, 2012 - 1:42pm

adult female Aeropedellus clavatus
These are moderately common in the Rockies from meadows as low as 6000 ft. (in Colorado - lower northward) right on up to the top. The dark purplish coloring may be due to cold nights (it might have already frozen several times up there). Grasshoppers often darken in color in the autumn - probably because it helps them to warm up faster and maintain a higher body temperature. It could also be that she was always this color. These vary a lot in color, but shades of gray and brown are most common.

Moved from Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids.
… David J. Ferguson, 14 September, 2012 - 1:37pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the information
You're right about freezing -- it had snowed there the day before, and temperatures were in the 20's the night before. There were a lot of these and a lot of dark Mormon Crickets in the area.
… Bob Webster, 14 September, 2012 - 10:51pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact