Common name - Wrinkled grasshopper (Helfer, 1972).
Recent synonymy - Hippiscus rugosus (Scudder)
Geographic distribution - Texas, Arizona and northern Mexico to Montana, Idaho and the Atlantic coast (Helfer, 1972). It is found in the eastern half of Colorado.
Habitat - grassy areas, especially those in open woods (Helfer, 1972).
Food habits - a mixed feeder preferring grasses. It especially prefers bluegrass and Japanese brome. Blue grama and little bluestem are preferred to a lesser extent (Campbell et al., 1974; Mulkern et al., 1969).
Eggs - pale yellow turning reddish brown. 30 eggs are arranged in three columns. Average egg length, 6.8 mm; average diameter, 1.7 mm (Onsager and Mulkern, 1963).
Adult - large and robust. General color is light to dark brown. Face is brownish-yellow and vertical. Vertex is rounded. Antennae are yellow at the base, brown at the tip and slender. Pronotum has a wrinkled appearance. Top of pronotum has a pale "X" shaped stripe, which is not always present in the female. Sides of prontoum have two yellowish spots, one above the other. Tegmina have distinct dark brown splotches and pale stripes converging in a "V" on top of the back. Wing disc is pale yellow to deep orange with a clear apex and a curved black band with a long spur. Abdomen is yellowish-brown. Inner face of hind femora is bright yellow with three black bands; outer face is clay yellow with three less distinct greyish-brown bands. Hind tibiae are yellow with a pale area at the base. Male length, 28 mm; female, 37 mm (Beamer, 1917; Blatchley, 1920).
Seasonal history - nymphs are present from mid-June to late August. Adults can be seen from July to November and are most common from September to November. H. ocelote is one of the last grasshoppers to disappear in the autumn (Coppock, 1962).
Abundance and importance - seldom becomes numerous and, therefore, is not an economic pest (Ball et al., 1942; Mulkern et al., 1969).
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Biology of Common Colorado Grasshoppers List
Biology of Common Colorado Grasshoppers
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