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Fun Facts
Did You Know?
The Red-Legged Grasshopper eats grasses, broadleaf weeds, garden vegetables, crop plants, and the occasional dead insect. Ask the Red-Legged Grasshopper what it wants for dinner and the answer comes back "whatever you're having." Living plants, dead plants, other bugs, doesn't matter. The menu covers virtually every plant family in North Louisiana
If This Animal Could Talk...
"Watch closely, respect my space, and let my habitat explain the rest of the story."
The Red-Legged Grasshopper wins no awards for being the biggest, the brightest, the loudest, or the most dramatic grasshopper in North Louisiana. Red-Legged Grasshopper wins by being everywhere, and the everywhere part matters more than the awards. The species ranks as one of the most abundant and widely distributed grasshoppers in North America, occupying virtually every open habitat from coast to coast and from southern Canada to the Gulf states. In the 26 parishes, the Red-Legged Grasshopper shows up in every field, every garden, every roadside, and every park with enough grass and weeds to support a population, so literally everywhere that isn't underwater or paved over.
The common name describes the diagnostic field mark. The hind tibiae, the lower segments of the enlarged jumping legs, carry a reddish or reddish-brown coloring that ranges from bright cherry-red to dull russet depending on the individual and the population. The red legs separate Red-Legged Grasshopper from the Differential Grasshopper (which wears black chevrons on the femora rather than red tibiae) and from most other Melanoplus species in the region.
A Few More Facts
How they hunt and forage: A 25-millimeter grasshopper with a catapult in each knee jumps like an animal three times its size, which explains why catching one by hand burns more exercise than most people expected from an insect the length of a paper clip. The Red-Legged Grasshopper eats grasses, broadleaf weeds, garden vegetables, crop plants, and the occasional dead insect. The Red-Legged Grasshopper occupies every habitat type because every habitat type contains something the species will eat.
Live birth or eggs? no
When young are born: Eggs in the soil from the previous fall, dormant through winter, hatching in spring.
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Accessibility
Accessibility
No crepitation, no calling song, no conspicuous stridulation. The species flushes with a soft wing-whir when disturbed, a brief sound in the standard hearing range that carries only a few feet. The Red-Legged Grasshopper stays acoustically invisible beyond a few feet.
Red-Legged Grasshoppers occupy every open ground type, paved margins, mowed grass, maintained roadsides, garden borders. All primary habitats sit on flat, firm terrain compatible with any mobility level. No off-trail access, no rough surfaces, and no steep grades required. More Information
iNaturalist: inaturalist.org, observation records for Red-Legged Grasshopper BugGuide: bugguide.net, identification resources for Melanoplus species Orthoptera Species File: orthoptera.speciesfile.org, taxonomy and distribution data
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Red-Legged Grasshopper live in North Louisiana?
Yes. The Red-Legged Grasshopper wins no awards for being the biggest, the brightest, the loudest, or the most dramatic grasshopper in North Louisiana. In the 26 parishes, the Red-Legged Grasshopper shows up in every field, every garden, every roadside, and every park with enough grass and weeds to support a population, so literally everywhere that isn't underwater or paved over. The species name femurrubrum translates to "red femur," though the red coloring actually concentrates more on the tibiae (lower leg) than on the femora (upper leg) in most North Louisiana populations.
How do you identify Red-Legged Grasshopper?
The Red-Legged Grasshopper belongs to Melanoplus, the genus with over 200 species in North America, and the identification challenge within the genus exceeds what most field guides prepare readers to handle. The red legs give you the field mark, but the "red" varies from cherry-red to dull rust to brownish-red depending on the individual, the population, and the stage of adulthood. A freshly molted adult carries the brightest red. An older adult at the end of the season wears duller, darker red that may be hard to distinguish from the brownish tibiae of other Melanoplus species. The confusion between the Red-Legged Grasshopper and the Migratory Grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes) creates the most persistent identification headache in the North Louisiana Melanoplus lineup. Both species occupy similar habitats, eat similar food, measure similar sizes, and wear similar earth-tone body colors. The Migratory Grasshopper's tibiae range from blue to reddish, overlapping the Red-Legged's color range on the red end. Separating the two species definitively needs examining the male cerci (the paired appendages at the abdomen tip), which differ in shape between the two species. The cerci examination demands either a collected specimen or a macro photograph of a cooperating grasshopper, neither of which describes the typical field encounter.
What does Red-Legged Grasshopper eat?
A 25-millimeter grasshopper with a catapult in each knee jumps like an animal three times its size, which explains why catching one by hand burns more exercise than most people expected from an insect the length of a paper clip. The Red-Legged Grasshopper eats grasses, broadleaf weeds, garden vegetables, crop plants, and the occasional dead insect. The Red-Legged Grasshopper occupies every habitat type because every habitat type contains something the species will eat.
Is Red-Legged Grasshopper dangerous to people?
No. This species is not dangerous to people when it is observed without handling or disturbance
