Marsh meadow grasshopper
Pseudochorthippus curtipennis
Identification 5
Green or brown, usually brown above. Wings may be shorter or longer than abdomen. Femur solid-colored and knee joint is dark. Abdomen yellow or light colored with black markings. This species is notoriously variable, so it may help to rule out similar species.
Listed as Chorthippus curtipennis in many sources.
Resources 5
Orthoptera of Michigan: https://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/Ag.%20Ext.%202007-Chelsie/PDF/e2815.pdf
Otte, D., 1981. The North American Grasshoppers, Vol. I. Acrididae: Gomphocerinae and Acridinae. Harvard University Press.
Occurrence 5
Knutson (1937) reported this species from 8 counties mostly in northwest Iowa. Otte (1981) shows records from all around the state. Unreported in iNaturalist in Iowa until 2021 when I found two populations. This species appears to have a more northerly distribution and Iowa may be near the lower bound of its range. Rangewide, this species has the largest distribution of any grasshopper in North America.
Habitat 5
Usually moist areas with tall grass. Eats only grasses.
Sources and Credits
- (c) klass-j, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by klass-j
- no rights reserved, uploaded by Kent McFarland
- (c) Louis-Philippe Bateman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Louis-Philippe Bateman
- (c) Erika Mitchell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erika Mitchell
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
