Two-striped Grasshopper

The two-striped grasshopper is a large, widely distributed species found across most of the United States and Canada, favoring lush, moist grassland habitats such as riverbanks, irrigated fields, and meadows. It is one of the larger native grasshoppers on the continent and is considered an important agricultural pest species in some regions, particularly in the northern Great Plains and Canadian prairies.

The species gets its common name from a pair of distinct pale yellow to cream stripes running from the head, along the top of the pronotum, and onto the forewings, contrasting against an otherwise olive-brown to yellowish body. This bold striping pattern makes it one of the more readily identifiable large grasshoppers in its range.

Because it favors moist, productive habitats often adjacent to or overlapping with cropland, the two-striped grasshopper periodically reaches high densities that can affect hay, grain, and vegetable crops, making it one of the more closely monitored grasshopper species in agricultural pest management programs across the northern United States and Canada.

• Large, robust body with olive-brown to yellowish-green overall coloring.
• Two distinct pale cream or yellow stripes running from the head across the pronotum and onto the forewings.
• Hind femurs are typically yellow with dark markings; hind tibiae often reddish or yellow.
• Wings extend to or beyond the tip of the abdomen in adults.
• Distinguished from the differential grasshopper, which has a herringbone leg pattern rather than dorsal stripes.
• Nymphs show the paired stripe pattern from an early instar.

This species is found across most of the United States and Canada, favoring moist, lush grassland habitats including riverbanks, irrigated pastures, roadside ditches, and the margins of agricultural fields. It is especially prevalent in the northern Great Plains and Canadian prairie provinces, where it can become a significant crop pest in outbreak years.

Two-striped grasshoppers are generalist feeders, consuming a wide variety of grasses, broadleaf weeds, and cultivated crops including alfalfa, small grains, and vegetables. They favor moist, green vegetation and tend to concentrate in irrigated or riparian habitats, sometimes moving into adjacent croplands as vegetation dries elsewhere. As abundant grassland herbivores, they are an important food source for birds and other insectivorous predators.

Females lay egg pods in the soil in late summer and fall, and eggs overwinter before hatching in mid to late spring. Nymphs pass through several instars of incomplete metamorphosis over the summer, reaching adulthood by mid to late summer. There is typically one generation per year.