Broad-banded Grasshopper
Trimerotropis latifasciata
This record describes Trimerotropis latifasciata (species). Recorded family: Acrididae. Recorded order: Orthoptera.
Identification and Appearance
A very active and often difficult to approach grasshopper, noticeable in flight due to coloration and sound produced. Often comes to lights at night, sometimes in large numbers.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
- Suborder
- Caelifera
- Family
- Acrididae (Short-horned Grasshoppers)
- Subfamily
- Oedipodinae
- Tribe
- Trimerotropini
- Genus
- Trimerotropis
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Habitat
Varies, but nearly always in valley bottoms and flats on silty, caliche, erroded, tilled, or slightly saline soils with sparse vegetation cover. Sometimes it colonizes old mostly unused open gravel roads and parking areas. Often associated with T. salina and/or T. melanoptera . Can become very abundant in disturbed areas such as overgrazed pastures, around watering tanks, on clay banks of canals, roads, etc.
Geographic Range
Widespread from the western Great Plains (Saskatchewan to Texas) and westward to the east side of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada (Washington to California); southward well into interior northern Mexico.
Seasonal Activity
Overwinters as eggs. Adults summer to frost, but most common usually in July and August.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: There is some debate as to whether this is one or two species. Specimens from the Great Plains usually have no red on the abdomen and the wing band averages a bit narrower than further west. Morphologically and behaviorally they are the same. Plains insects were named Trimerotropis laticincta , and that name is still used by some authors. However, the differences seem inconstant, and the eastern and western forms seem to blend into one another across Wyoming, New Mexico, and southwest Texas. The question needs more study.
About Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids: the wider group
Order-level background for Orthoptera, the group containing Trimerotropis latifasciata. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Orthoptera includes ~28,000 described species of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Desert locusts can form swarms covering 460 square miles containing up to 80 million individuals per square kilometer.
Ecological role of the group
Grasshoppers and crickets are a primary food source for birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Cricket farming is a growing industry - crickets require 12× less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein, using 2,000× less water.
Economic and practical significance of the group
A single large locust swarm can consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. The 2019-2021 East Africa locust crisis affected food security for 42 million people across multiple countries. Global crop losses from locusts can reach billions annually.
Recorded sources for this group: FAO, UN World Food Programme, research publications. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
Photos of Broad-banded Grasshopper (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Brad Barnd; Additional contributions by David Ferguson
Frequently Asked Questions About Broad-banded Grasshopper
What is Broad-banded Grasshopper?
Broad-banded Grasshopper (Trimerotropis latifasciata) is a species in the family Acrididae, within the order Orthoptera.
Where is Broad-banded Grasshopper found?
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Varies, but nearly always in valley bottoms and flats on silty, caliche, erroded, tilled, or slightly saline soils with sparse vegetation cover. Sometimes it colonizes old mostly unused open gravel roads and parking areas. Often associated with T. salina and/or T. melanoptera . Can become very abundant in disturbed areas such as overgrazed pastures, around watering tanks, on clay banks of canals, roads, etc. |
| Range | Widespread from the western Great Plains (Saskatchewan to Texas) and westward to the east side of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada (Washington to California); southward well into interior northern Mexico. |
When is Broad-banded Grasshopper active?
Broad-banded Grasshopper: seasonal activity - Overwinters as eggs. Adults summer to frost, but most common usually in July and August..