Green-legged Spur-throat Grasshopper
Melanoplus viridipes
Identification 4
Somewhat similar to M. gracilis, but wings are larger, often touching or nearly so at midline, and outer face of femur is banded. Solid green forelegs and midlegs. Lateral stripe runs full length of pronotum. Large females tend to have forelegs that are less brilliant green than males.
This species appears as adults in the spring, most commonly in May and June. M. gracilis adults appear in the fall.
Otte (2002) split M. viridipes into 12 species. Of the twelve new species, 2 occur in Iowa: Melanoplus viridipes (sensu stricto - meaning the newly described narrower version of this species) and M. lilianae. These species probably cannot be distinguished currently without examining internal male genitalia, but see the species account for M. lilianae. Locality data in Otte (2002) indicates that their ranges overlap, but M. viridipes may be more common in northeastern Iowa. More research on these two species in Iowa is needed.
Resources 4
Otte, D., 2002. Studies of Melanoplus. 1. Review of the viridipes group (Acrididae: Melanoplinae). Journal of Orthoptera Research, pp.91-118. https://doi.org/10.1665/1082-6467(2002)011[0091:SOMROT]2.0.CO;2
Occurrence 4
Appears to occur in the eastern 2/3 of the state. Knutson (1937) reported it from 9 eastern counties. iNaturalist and BugGuide have some records from central Iowa.
Habitat 4
Woodland openings or woodland edge.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jason M Crockwell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Jason M Crockwell
- (c) Paul Tavares, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Paul Tavares
- (c) Bernie Paquette, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Bernie Paquette
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
