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Fun Facts
Did You Know?
The drought-driven migration pattern creates a paper trail. During the drought years, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2023 among the most notable recent examples, extension offices and Master Gardener programs across North Louisiana fielded a spike in calls about "large green grasshoppers eating my shrubs." The calls peak during August and September of drought years and vanish during wet years. Extension entomologists who've been around long enough can predict the call volume by checking the rainfall totals. Dry July? The phone rings in August. Every time
If This Animal Could Talk...
"Watch closely, respect my space, and let my habitat explain the rest of the story."
The Obscure Bird Grasshopper, Olive-Green Grasshopper, wears a name that doubles as a behavioral description. "Obscure" captures both the species' relatively low profile compared to the flashier American Bird Grasshopper and the olive-green to brownish-green coloring that blends the animal into the shrubby, weedy vegetation where the species spends most of its adult life. Where the American Bird Grasshopper launches into conspicuous, sustained flights across open fields, the Olive-Green Grasshopper (the practical common name used by most field observers in the Southeast) sits in the shrubbery and eats.
Olive-Green Grasshoppers occupy a peculiar position in the North Louisiana grasshopper lineup: large enough to notice, common enough to encounter, and yet consistently overlooked because the habitat preference keeps the Olive-Green Grasshopper inside the vegetation canopy rather than on the exposed surfaces where humans walk, drive, and garden. A parking lot carries Carolina Grasshoppers that flush in front of pedestrians. A bean row supports Differential Grasshoppers that eat the harvest. The hedge along the parking lot edge and the fencerow behind the bean row support Olive-Green Grasshoppers that do their living and dying inside the woody vegetation where most people never look closely. The species name obscura captures the anonymity better than any common name could, the obscure grasshopper, living in the shrubbery, eating the leaves, and staying hidden while the louder, flashier species in the genus get all the attention and all the blame.
A Few More Facts
How they hunt and forage: A bean row supports Differential Grasshoppers that eat the harvest. The grasshoppers eat both the shrub leaves above and the grasses and forbs growing beneath the canopy, but the shrub connection holds across the full range. The shrub preference connects to the species' feeding mechanics.
Live birth or eggs? no
When young are born: Young loblolly and shortleaf pine seedlings in recently planted pine plantations across Vernon, Natchitoches, Winn, and Grant parishes may lose needle clusters to Olive-Green Grasshopper feeding during outbreak years.
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Accessibility
Accessibility
The large body size kicks out a loud flight buzz audible from 10 to 15 feet during takeoff and sustained flight. The buzzing sits in the standard human hearing frequency range, detectable by all ages. No calling song, no crepitation, and no sustained acoustic display, all sound ties to flight events during daylight hours.
The grasshopper feeds on shrubs at waist to shoulder height in maintained landscapes, hedge lines, garden borders, ornamental plantings along paved walkways and parking areas. The primary habitat sits on flat, maintained ground surfaces adjacent to the woody vegetation the species occupies. No rough terrain access required. More Information
iNaturalist: inaturalist.org, observation records for Olive-Green Grasshopper BugGuide: bugguide.net, identification resources for Schistocerca species Orthoptera Species File: orthoptera.speciesfile.org, taxonomy and distribution data
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Olive-Green Grasshopper live in North Louisiana?
Yes. Olive-Green Grasshoppers occupy a peculiar position in the North Louisiana grasshopper lineup: large enough to notice, common enough to encounter, and yet consistently overlooked because the habitat preference keeps the Olive-Green Grasshopper inside the vegetation canopy rather than on the exposed surfaces where humans walk, drive, and garden.
During the drought years, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2023 among the most notable recent examples, extension offices and Master Gardener programs across North Louisiana fielded a spike in calls about "large green grasshoppers eating my shrubs." The calls peak during August and September of drought years and vanish during wet years. Where most North Louisiana grasshoppers prefer open grasslands, fields, or bare ground, the Olive-Green Grasshopper gravitates toward woody and semi-woody vegetation.
How do you identify Olive-Green Grasshopper?
The Obscure Bird Grasshopper, Olive-Green Grasshopper, wears a name that doubles as a behavioral description. "Obscure" captures both the species' relatively low profile compared to the flashier American Bird Grasshopper and the olive-green to brownish-green coloring that blends the animal into the shrubby, weedy vegetation where the species spends most of its adult life. Where the American Bird Grasshopper launches into conspicuous, sustained flights across open fields, the Olive-Green Grasshopper (the practical common name used by most field observers in the Southeast) sits in the shrubbery and eats.Olive-Green Grasshoppers occupy a peculiar position in the North Louisiana grasshopper lineup: large enough to notice, common enough to encounter, and yet consistently overlooked because the habitat preference keeps the Olive-Green Grasshopper inside the vegetation canopy rather than on the exposed surfaces where humans walk, drive, and garden. A parking lot carries Carolina Grasshoppers that flush in front of pedestrians. A bean row supports Differential Grasshoppers that eat the harvest. The hedge along the parking lot edge and the fencerow behind the bean row support Olive-Green Grasshoppers that do their living and dying inside the woody vegetation where most people never look closely. The species name obscura captures the anonymity better than any common name could, the obscure grasshopper, living in the shrubbery, eating the leaves, and staying hidden while the louder, flashier species in the genus get all the attention and all the blame.
What does Olive-Green Grasshopper eat?
A bean row supports Differential Grasshoppers that eat the harvest. The grasshoppers eat both the shrub leaves above and the grasses and forbs growing beneath the canopy, but the shrub connection holds across the full range. The shrub preference connects to the species' feeding mechanics
Is Olive-Green Grasshopper dangerous to people?
No. This species is not dangerous to people when it is observed without handling or disturbance
