American bird grasshopper
This grasshopper flies so strongly that startled adults often glide up into treetops instead of simply hopping away like most other grasshoppers.
| Where | Open fields, prairies, orchards, gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 40 to 70 mm body length |
| When | March to November |
The American bird grasshopper is a large, yellow-brown grasshopper with pale wings marked by large brown spots, a pale cream stripe running down the back, and white knee spots on the hind legs. Adults measure about 40 to 70 mm long, making them among the largest grasshoppers found across the United States and Canada.
It feeds on a wide range of plants, including citrus, corn, cotton and many grasses, and can become locally common enough to damage cultivated crops. In warmer parts of its range it produces two generations a year and overwinters as an adult, becoming active again on mild winter days.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Yellow, Brown
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; occasionally becomes a crop pest on citrus and other cultivated plants.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Shows an olive-green body crossed by a bright yellow stripe and contrasting dark brown wings, rather than the plain yellow-brown body and pale, brown-spotted wings of the American bird grasshopper.
Questions
Is the American bird grasshopper dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; occasionally becomes a crop pest on citrus and other cultivated plants.
When can you see the American bird grasshopper?
The American bird grasshopper can be seen from March to November, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Hillery Warner, Natural History Museum, CC0, GBIF Licence
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Crickets and grasshoppers›Grasshoppers›Schistocerca
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.