Spotted Bird Grasshopper
Schistocerca lineata
Identification 6
Schistocera (Bird Grasshoppers) are the largest grasshoppers in Iowa at 40-70 mm. S. lineata has a yellow stripe along the back. Color varies from green to brown and the wings are same shade/color as the body. They are strong fliers. The iNaturalist default photo is the rare yellow and black aposematic form that occurs in Texas. In Iowa, they will be the typical green or brown. The related S. americana is easily distinguished because it has spots on its wings.
Knutson and Jaques (1935) reported that "Schistocera lineata" and "Schistocerca alutacea" had been documented in Iowa. These were probably both forms of what is currently known as Schistocerca lineata. Schistocerca is a confusing genus and wasn't fully sorted out until Song (2004). Song (2004) has more information on identification.
There is a small possibility S. obscura could occur in Iowa. This species has wings a contrasting different color/shade than the body and abdomen, whereas S. lineata has wings the same color.
Resources 6
Genus page at Grasshoppers of the Western U.S.: http://idtools.org/id/grasshoppers/factsheet.php?name=17692
Song, H., 2004. Revision of the Alutacea group of genus Schistocerca (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Cyrtacanthacridinae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 97(3), pp.420-436. https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/97/3/420/70275
Occurrence 6
Possible statewide, but sporadic. It's possible many individuals are simply dispersing and do not represent resident breeding populations. I saw enough individuals at Eddyville Sand Prairie Park in early September to convince me that there is a resident breeding population there.
Knutson (1937) reported S. lineata and "S. alutacea", which are probably now both S. lineata, from 16 counties. Froeschner (1954) noted the extreme difficulty in identifying some individuals.
Habitat 6
Usually associated with sandy soils.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley
- (c) Christian Schwarz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Christian Schwarz
- (c) J. N. Stuart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by J. N. Stuart, https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartwildlife/5204971894/
- (c) Joan Holt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joan Holt
- (c) Sam Kieschnick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Sam Kieschnick
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
