Spur-throated Grasshopper

Spur-throated grasshoppers make up the large subfamily Melanoplinae, with the genus Melanoplus containing hundreds of North American species, including some of the most common grasshoppers encountered in fields, gardens, and prairies. The group's name comes from a small, tooth-like spur located on the underside of the throat between the front legs, a feature used to distinguish them from band-winged and slant-faced grasshoppers.

Members of this group are typically medium to large grasshoppers with relatively short, thick antennae and a rounded, blunt head profile rather than the elongated, slanted face seen in some other grasshopper subfamilies. Coloration ranges from brown and olive to gray, often with mottling that provides camouflage against soil and dried vegetation. Some species have brightly colored hind legs, while the hindwings themselves are usually clear or lightly tinted rather than boldly patterned.

Ecologically, spur-throated grasshoppers are important herbivores in grassland and agricultural ecosystems, feeding on a wide range of grasses and broadleaf plants. Several species are known for periodic population surges that can lead to conspicuous, though usually short-lived, buildups in numbers, and they serve as a significant food source for birds, small mammals, and other predators throughout their range.

• Medium to large grasshoppers, roughly 0.75-2 in (2-5 cm) long depending on species
• Small spur or spine on the underside of the throat between the front legs (key diagnostic feature)
• Rounded, blunt-faced head rather than a sharply slanted profile
• Coloration typically brown, olive, or gray with mottled patterning for camouflage
• Hindwings usually clear or only lightly tinted, without the bold colors seen in band-winged grasshoppers
• Short to moderately long antennae compared to the very long antennae of katydids

This group is widespread across North America, occupying grasslands, prairies, pastures, hay fields, croplands, roadsides, and open meadows from lowlands to mountain foothills. Different species specialize in different habitats, from dry shortgrass prairie to moist meadows, and many are common in disturbed or agricultural landscapes. Adults are most abundant from midsummer through early fall.

Spur-throated grasshoppers are diurnal, sun-loving insects that feed on grasses and a wide variety of broadleaf plants, with some species showing a preference for specific host plants. Males of many species produce soft crepitating or ticking sounds by rubbing their hind legs against their wings or abdomen during courtship displays. They are strong jumpers and can also fly short distances when disturbed. As a highly abundant group across grassland ecosystems, they are a foundational prey item for grassland birds, rodents, reptiles, and predatory insects, and their grazing pressure helps shape plant community composition in prairies and pastures.

Like other grasshoppers, spur-throated species undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Females deposit egg pods in the soil in late summer or fall, and the eggs overwinter, hatching the following spring or early summer. Nymphs resemble small, wingless versions of adults and pass through five or six molts before reaching maturity, developing full wings at the final molt. Most species complete a single generation per year, with adults present from midsummer until the first hard frosts.