Kiowa Grasshopper
Trachyrhachys kiowa
Identification 4
Smallish. Head seems large and bulges above pronotum. Pronotum saddled, with pinched ridges. Also note shape of lower edge of pronotum. Color is variable. Wings (tegmina) tend to have 2-3 large dark blotches on the side, with many smaller spots. Hindwings variable across this species, but in Iowa should have a yellow base, black region, then clear area at outer part of wing. However, wings may be entirely clear. These two wing types were previously regarded as separate subspecies. Knutson (1937) reported the clear wing variety from western counties and the yellow wing variety from eastern counties. Tibiae are blue. Hind femora have a fringe of small hairs on the lower edge.
Resources 4
Grasshoppers of the Western U.S.: http://idtools.org/id/grasshoppers/factsheet.php?name=13220
Occurrence 4
Should occur statewide, but not reported in iNaturalist yet. BugGuide has one record from Johnson County. Knutson (1937) reported this species from 18 counties around the state. SCAN shows 20 records from around the state.
Habitat 4
Occurs in areas with shorter grass that may occur mixed in tallgrass prairie in Iowa.
Sources and Credits
- (c) ellen hildebrandt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by ellen hildebrandt
- (c) Sam Kieschnick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Sam Kieschnick
- (c) Sean Cozart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Sean Cozart
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
