coral-winged grasshopper

(Pardalophora apiculata)

Conservation Status
coral-winged grasshopper
Photo by Nancy Falkum
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Coral-winged grasshopper is a common, large, early season, bandwing grasshopper. It occurs across southern Canada and in the United States from Maine to Tennessee west to Montana and New Mexico. It is common in the eastern half of Minnesota. Adults are found from April through June in prairies, old fields, savannas, and forest openings with grasses, always in areas with very sandy soil.

Adults are large, robust, and grayish-brown. Females are 1 to 2¼ (42 to 58 mm) in length. Males are smaller, 1¼ to 1 (32 to 42 mm) in length.

When viewed from the side the top front of the head is angled and the face is broadly rounded. The face is vertical or nearly vertical. There is a distinct, concave, depressed area (fastigium) at the top of the face between the compound eyes, and a small depression (foveola) immediately above each eye. The broad vertical ridge on the face (frontal costa) is narrowed between the antennae. The compound eyes are not bulging and do not extend above the top of the head. The antennae are short, no more than half the length of the body.

The plate over the thorax (pronotum) is saddle-shaped and has a distinct longitudinal ridge in the middle. There is a single transverse groove (suculus) across the pronotum that cuts through the ridge. The lateral lobes of the pronotum are rounded and the rear margin is extended. The angle of the triangular extension is less than 90°. It does not extend over the abdomen or beyond the base of the wings. The front part of the pronotum (prozona) is much shorter than the rear part (metazona). On the underside of the thorax there is no spur between the front legs.

There is a pair of flat, round, hearing organs (tympani) on the sides of the first abdominal segment. On the female the ovipositor is short and stout.

The forewings (tegmina) are long, narrow, and slightly thickened. They have large dark spots and no dark cross bands. The spots are mostly confined to the sides and rear. When folded over the body the top is dark in the basal area, pale on the sides and for most of their length. The pale sides darken gradually toward the center. They do not form distinct stripes. The hindwings are membranous and are folded fan-like when at rest. They are coral red in the discal area, have a broad dark cross band, and are clear at the tip.

On the hind legs the third segment (femur) is greatly enlarged and long, as long as the tegmina. The inner face is yellow to orange and is crossed by two broad dark bands. The fourth segment (tibia) is yellow, orange, or coral red. There are two spurs at the end of the tibia. The inner spur is less than twice as long as outer. On all of the legs the end section corresponding to the foot (tarsus) has three segments. The last segment has a pair of claws at the tip. The pad-like structure between the claws (arollium) is extremely small or absent.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female: 1 to 2¼ (42 to 58 mm)

Male: 1¼ to 1 (32 to 42 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Prairies, old fields, savannas, and forest openings; sandy soil

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

April through June

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Adults are active during the day.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

Eggs overwinter in the soil and hatch the following July. The half-grown nymphs overwinter again and mature in the spring of the following year. Mature adults are present from April through June and are gone by July.

 
     
 

Nymph Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Unknown but probably grasses and sedges.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 19, 24, 27, 29, 30.

 
  2/8/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common in Minnesota

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids)  
 

Suborder

Caelifera (grasshoppers, locusts, and allies)  
  Infraorder Acrididea (grasshoppers)  
 

Superfamily

Acridoidea (short-horned grasshoppers and locusts)  
 

Family

Acrididae (short-horned grasshoppers)  
 

Subfamily

Oedipodinae (bandwing grasshoppers)  
 

Tribe

Hippiscini  
 

Genus

Pardalophora  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Acridium tuberculatum

Hippiscus apiculata

Hippiscus tuberculatus

Locusta apiculata

Locusta corallina

Pardalophora obliterata

Pardalophora tuberculata

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

coral-winged grasshopper

coral-winged locust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Femur

On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Tegmen

The modified, leathery front wing of some insects that protects the hindwing. It may also serve as a camouflage, a defensive display, or a sound board. Plural: tegmina.

 

Tympanum

An external hearing structure. In reptiles and amphibians, the circular, disk-like membrane that covers the ear opening. In insects, the membrane covering the air sac and sensory neurons. Plural: tympani.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Nancy Falkum

 
    coral-winged grasshopper   coral-winged grasshopper  
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Coral-winged Grasshoppers facing off
Eric Eaton
 
   
 
About

Aug 23, 2015

Two male Coral-winged Grasshoppers, Pardalophora apiculata, try to intimidate each other by stridulating: making noise by rubbing the inside of the hind femur against the front wings. Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado, USA, April 30, 2015.

 

 

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  Nancy Falkum
5/2/2021

Location: Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, South Unit

coral-winged grasshopper  
           
 
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Created: 2/8/2022

Last Updated:

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