Orthoptera of Iowa

Orthoptera are Katydids, Crickets, Grasshoppers, and related species, which often do not have the information resources that are available for groups like Dragonflies or Butterflies. This Guide includes an up-to-date checklist of Iowa species and resources for identification. The list is organized from the most commonly reported species (Differential Grasshopper) to least commonly reported (i.e., never) in iNaturalist. Iowa Naturalists can make a significant contribution to our knowledge of our Orthopteran wildlife, because many species are not surveyed or studied often.

Sources for this Guide include iNaturalist public and private observations, BugGuide, the Insects of Iowa website, the Singing Insects of North America (SINA) website, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN), and academic literature. I have included any species that are known or thought to occur anywhere in Iowa.

The most interesting literature is two papers from the 1930s and Froeschner's paper from 1954:

Froeschner, R.C., 1954. The grasshoppers and other Orthoptera of Iowa. Iowa State College Journal of Science 29:163-354. https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/49794
Knutson, H. and Jaques, H.E., 1935. A revised list of the Orthoptera of Iowa. In Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 179-184).
Knutson, H., 1937. Notes on the Acrididae (Orthoptera) of Iowa. Field and Laboratory, 5(2), p.2.

These papers document many species from Iowa that have not been recorded since. PDFs can be found through Google Scholar. or at the provided links. Froeschner (1954) is the most complete list, but is not very beginner friendly.

This Guide currently includes 190 species. Of those, 107 species have no public records in iNaturalist, so there is significant room to document more species in Iowa. Some of these species are rather obscure crickets that are difficult to ID, but there are also others such as the Western Round-winged Katydid which has many historical records in Iowa (https://orthsoc.org/sina/013a.htm), but no records in iNat.

Click through each species picture for information on identification. From each species page you can also click through to BugGuide or the iNat taxon page for more information.

Some General Identification Tips for some Orthops groups:

Melanoplus is a large genus that can be difficult to identify without pictures of the male terminalia (except the common Differential and Two-striped Grasshoppers). Examples of the type of pictures needed can be seen here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/171815795
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/131820231
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/173891593

Oedipodinae are the band-wing grasshoppers that are excellent fliers. For these species, good views of the hind tibiae, pronotal crest and wings are critical. Hindwing color also helps if you have them in hand. Some examples:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/131669696
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/156687394
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9787474

There are 5 Conehead species in Iowa. A picture of the cone or "forehead" will allow identification to species. As an example see this observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/94787928

There are 5 Scudderia (Bush Katydid) species in Iowa. A picture of the "terminalia" (reproductive parts at the hind end) is usually needed to ID the species. See this page: https://bugguide.net/node/view/7130

There are 8 species of Tree Cricket in Iowa (1 Neoxabea and 7 Oecanthus). Identification of most of these requires a photo of the front of the antenna bases, like the second picture in this observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/94281439

There are 11 camel crickets in the genus Ceuthophilus in Iowa. Most have no records in Iowa since 1954. Naturalists can make a significant contribution by taking identifiable pictures of these species. Pictures of the hind end/terminalia of males are needed. Take pictures from above, from the side, and from behind, and perhaps from below, so that the anatomy can clearly be seen. See entry for Ceuthophilus maculatus for a helpful diagram of parts of the terminalia.

Photography of captured insects can be easier if you put them in the fridge for awhile. It doesn't kill them (or rarely does...usually only when they are large insects).

Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. has a good page on grasshopper morphology: https://idtools.org/grasshoppers/index.cfm?pageID=1687

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Brandon Woo (https://www.inaturalist.org/people/brandonwoo) for a "peer review" of this guide and many helpful tips on identification. Thanks to Jim Durbin, Dr. Greg Courtney, and the Iowa DNR diversity program sharing their knowledge (or confirming the knowledge gaps) on Iowa Orthoptera. less ↑

All 190

Differential Grasshopper ¹
Melanoplus differentialis

Carolina Grasshopper ²
Dissosteira carolina

Fall Field Cricket ³
Gryllus pennsylvanicus

Red-legged Grasshopper ⁴
Melanoplus femurrubrum

Common True Katydid ⁵
Pterophylla camellifolia

Two-striped Grasshopper ⁶
Melanoplus bivittatus

Short-winged Meadow Katydid ⁷
Conocephalus brevipennis

Greater Anglewing ⁸
Microcentrum rhombifolium

Slender Meadow Katydid ⁹
Conocephalus fasciatus

Oblong-winged Katydid ¹⁰
Amblycorypha oblongifolia

Short-winged Green Grasshopper ¹¹
Dichromorpha viridis

Striped Ground Cricket ¹²
Allonemobius fasciatus

Green-striped Grasshopper ¹³
Chortophaga viridifasciata

Two-spotted Tree Cricket ¹⁴
Neoxabea bipunctata

Black-legged Meadow Katydid ¹⁵
Orchelimum nigripes

Roesel's Bush-cricket ¹⁶
Roeseliana roeselii

Northern Mole Cricket ¹⁷
Neocurtilla hexadactyla

Forbes' Tree Cricket ¹⁸
Oecanthus forbesi

Clouded Grasshopper ⁹
Encoptolophus sordidus

Narrow-winged Tree Cricket ¹⁹
Oecanthus niveus

Migratory Grasshopper ²⁰
Melanoplus sanguinipes

Graceful Grasshopper ²¹
Melanoplus gracilis

Sword-bearing Conehead ²²
Neoconocephalus ensiger

Say's Trig ²³
Anaxipha exigua

Round-tipped Conehead ²⁴
Neoconocephalus retusus

Northern Bush Katydid ²⁵
Scudderia septentrionalis

Autumn Yellow-winged Grasshopper ²⁶
Arphia xanthoptera

Pine-tree Spur-throat Grasshopper ²⁷
Melanoplus punctulatus

Spotted Ground Cricket ²⁸
Allonemobius maculatus

Green-legged Spur-throat Grasshopper ²⁹
Melanoplus viridipes

Melanoplus lilianae

Hooded Grouse Locust ³⁰
Paratettix cucullatus

Walsh's Locust ³¹
Melanoplus walshii

Spotted Bird Grasshopper ¹¹
Schistocerca lineata

American Bird Grasshopper ³²
Schistocerca americana

Black-sided Pygmy Grasshopper ³³
Tettigidea lateralis

Scudder's Short-winged Grasshopper ³⁴
Melanoplus scudderi

Woodland Meadow Katydid ³⁵
Conocephalus nemoralis

Fork-tailed Bush Katydid ³⁶
Scudderia furcata

Admirable Grasshopper ¹
Syrbula admirabilis

Black-sided Meadow Katydid ³⁷
Conocephalus nigropleurum

Four-spotted Tree Cricket ⁶
Oecanthus quadripunctatus

Coral-winged Grasshopper ³⁸
Pardalophora apiculata

Pasture Locust ⁴
Orphulella speciosa

Jumping Bush Cricket ³⁹
Hapithus saltator

Allard's Ground Cricket ⁴⁰
Allonemobius allardi

White-whiskered grasshopper ⁴¹
Ageneotettix deorum

Spotted Camel Cricket ⁴²
Ceuthophilus maculatus

Obscure Pygmy Grasshopper ⁴³
Tetrix arenosa

Robust Camel Cricket ⁴⁴
Udeopsylla robusta

Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid ⁴⁵
Conocephalus strictus

Carolina Ground Cricket ⁴
Eunemobius carolinus

Texas Bush Katydid ⁴⁶
Scudderia texensis

Velvet-striped Grasshopper ⁴⁷
Eritettix simplex

Carolina Leafroller Cricket ⁴⁸
Camptonotus carolinensis

Nebraska Conehead ⁴⁹
Neoconocephalus nebrascensis

Robust Conehead ⁵⁰
Neoconocephalus robustus

Curve-tailed Bush Katydid ⁵¹
Scudderia curvicauda

Larger Pygmy Mole Grasshopper ⁵²
Neotridactylus apicialis

Slender Groundhopper ⁵³
Tetrix subulata

Keeler's Spur-throat Grasshopper ⁵⁴
Melanoplus keeleri

Marsh meadow grasshopper ⁵⁵
Pseudochorthippus curtipennis

Spring Field Cricket ⁵⁶
Gryllus veletis

House Cricket ³⁷
Acheta domesticus

Snowy Tree Cricket ⁵⁷
Oecanthus fultoni

Eastern Ant Cricket ⁵⁸
Myrmecophilus pergandei

Broad-winged tree cricket ⁵⁹
Oecanthus latipennis

Sulphur-winged Grasshopper ⁹
Arphia sulphurea

Restless Bush Cricket ⁵⁹
Hapithus agitator

Common Meadow Katydid ⁵⁹
Orchelimum vulgare

Japanese Burrowing Cricket ⁵⁹
Velarifictorus micado

Boll's Grasshopper ⁶⁰
Spharagemon bolli

Long-tailed Meadow Katydid ⁵
Conocephalus attenuatus

Clipped-winged Grasshopper ⁶¹
Metaleptea brevicornis

Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid ⁶²
Orchelimum campestre

Broad-winged Bush Katydid ⁶³
Scudderia pistillata

Long-spurred Meadow Katydid ⁶⁴
Orchelimum silvaticum

Greenhouse Camel Cricket ⁶⁵
Tachycines asynamorus

Sprinkled Locust ⁶⁶
Chloealtis conspersa

Huckleberry Spur-throat Grasshopper ⁶⁷
Melanoplus fasciatus

Gray Ground Cricket ⁶⁸
Allonemobius griseus

Black-sided Camel Cricket ²⁹
Ceuthophilus latens

Short-winged Boopie ⁴¹
Boopedon auriventris

Lively Mermiria ⁶¹
Mermiria picta

Kiowa Grasshopper ⁷¹
Trachyrhachys kiowa

Orange-Winged Grasshopper ⁷²
Pardalophora phoenicoptera

Smaller Sand Cricket ⁷³
Ellipes minuta

Ornate Grouse Locust ¹⁶
Tetrix ornata

Large-headed Grasshopper ⁷⁴
Phoetaliotes nebrascensis

Seaside Grasshopper ⁷⁵
Trimerotropis maritima

Prairie Tree Cricket ⁷⁶
Oecanthus argentinus

Prairie Meadow Katydid ⁷⁷
Conocephalus saltans

Gladiator Meadow Katydid ⁴
Orchelimum gladiator

Bunch Grass Locust ⁶
Pseudopomala brachyptera

Delicate Meadow Katydid ⁷⁸
Orchelimum delicatum

Western Round-winged Katydid ⁷⁹
Amblycorypha parvipennis

Red-winged Grasshopper ⁸⁰
Arphia pseudonietana

Edited by Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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Orthoptera of Iowa

Differential Grasshopper 1 Melanoplus differentialis

Carolina Grasshopper 2 Dissosteira carolina

Fall Field Cricket 3 Gryllus pennsylvanicus

Red-legged Grasshopper 4 Melanoplus femurrubrum

Common True Katydid 5 Pterophylla camellifolia

Two-striped Grasshopper 6 Melanoplus bivittatus

Short-winged Meadow Katydid 7 Conocephalus brevipennis

Greater Anglewing 8 Microcentrum rhombifolium

Slender Meadow Katydid 9 Conocephalus fasciatus

Oblong-winged Katydid 10 Amblycorypha oblongifolia

Short-winged Green Grasshopper 11 Dichromorpha viridis

Striped Ground Cricket 12 Allonemobius fasciatus

Green-striped Grasshopper 13 Chortophaga viridifasciata

Two-spotted Tree Cricket 14 Neoxabea bipunctata

Black-legged Meadow Katydid 15 Orchelimum nigripes

Roesel's Bush-cricket 16 Roeseliana roeselii

Northern Mole Cricket 17 Neocurtilla hexadactyla

Forbes' Tree Cricket 18 Oecanthus forbesi

Clouded Grasshopper 9 Encoptolophus sordidus

Narrow-winged Tree Cricket 19 Oecanthus niveus

Migratory Grasshopper 20 Melanoplus sanguinipes

Graceful Grasshopper 21 Melanoplus gracilis

Sword-bearing Conehead 22 Neoconocephalus ensiger

Say's Trig 23 Anaxipha exigua

Round-tipped Conehead 24 Neoconocephalus retusus

Northern Bush Katydid 25 Scudderia septentrionalis

Autumn Yellow-winged Grasshopper 26 Arphia xanthoptera

Pine-tree Spur-throat Grasshopper 27 Melanoplus punctulatus

Spotted Ground Cricket 28 Allonemobius maculatus

Green-legged Spur-throat Grasshopper 29 Melanoplus viridipes

Melanoplus lilianae

Hooded Grouse Locust 30 Paratettix cucullatus

Walsh's Locust 31 Melanoplus walshii

Spotted Bird Grasshopper 11 Schistocerca lineata

American Bird Grasshopper 32 Schistocerca americana

Black-sided Pygmy Grasshopper 33 Tettigidea lateralis

Scudder's Short-winged Grasshopper 34 Melanoplus scudderi

Woodland Meadow Katydid 35 Conocephalus nemoralis

Fork-tailed Bush Katydid 36 Scudderia furcata

Admirable Grasshopper 1 Syrbula admirabilis

Black-sided Meadow Katydid 37 Conocephalus nigropleurum

Four-spotted Tree Cricket 6 Oecanthus quadripunctatus

Coral-winged Grasshopper 38 Pardalophora apiculata

Pasture Locust 4 Orphulella speciosa

Jumping Bush Cricket 39 Hapithus saltator

Allard's Ground Cricket 40 Allonemobius allardi

White-whiskered grasshopper 41 Ageneotettix deorum

Spotted Camel Cricket 42 Ceuthophilus maculatus

Obscure Pygmy Grasshopper 43 Tetrix arenosa

Robust Camel Cricket 44 Udeopsylla robusta

Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid 45 Conocephalus strictus

Carolina Ground Cricket 4 Eunemobius carolinus

Texas Bush Katydid 46 Scudderia texensis

Velvet-striped Grasshopper 47 Eritettix simplex

Carolina Leafroller Cricket 48 Camptonotus carolinensis

Nebraska Conehead 49 Neoconocephalus nebrascensis

Robust Conehead 50 Neoconocephalus robustus

Curve-tailed Bush Katydid 51 Scudderia curvicauda

Larger Pygmy Mole Grasshopper 52 Neotridactylus apicialis

Slender Groundhopper 53 Tetrix subulata

Keeler's Spur-throat Grasshopper 54 Melanoplus keeleri

Marsh meadow grasshopper 55 Pseudochorthippus curtipennis

Spring Field Cricket 56 Gryllus veletis

House Cricket 37 Acheta domesticus

Snowy Tree Cricket 57 Oecanthus fultoni

Eastern Ant Cricket 58 Myrmecophilus pergandei

Broad-winged tree cricket 59 Oecanthus latipennis

Sulphur-winged Grasshopper 9 Arphia sulphurea

Restless Bush Cricket 59 Hapithus agitator

Common Meadow Katydid 59 Orchelimum vulgare

Japanese Burrowing Cricket 59 Velarifictorus micado

Boll's Grasshopper 60 Spharagemon bolli

Long-tailed Meadow Katydid 5 Conocephalus attenuatus

Clipped-winged Grasshopper 61 Metaleptea brevicornis

Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid 62 Orchelimum campestre

Broad-winged Bush Katydid 63 Scudderia pistillata

Long-spurred Meadow Katydid 64 Orchelimum silvaticum

Greenhouse Camel Cricket 65 Tachycines asynamorus

Sprinkled Locust 66 Chloealtis conspersa