Two-striped Grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus femoratus (Burmeister) Morse, 1894    
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Orthoptera   >   Family Acrididae   >   Genus Melanoplus   

Status:

"This is a very common and sometimes destructive species. It's liking of urban habitats, plus bold patterning and large size, tend to get it noticed more than most grasshopper species.

There are often two subspecies recognized, which because they look somewhat different, have caused some confusion in conflicting descriptions for this species. These two types intergrade where they come in contact, but mostly displace each other geographically.

Those often called subspecies femoratus come from cooler, usually moister regions; found in eastern mountains, the northeast U.S., across Canada (north of the more arid Plains sections), in the Northwest of the U.S. and in British Columbia, and south into California" (BugGuide, 2015).

Description:

"This primarily northern subspecies nearly always has red hind tibiae and usually lacks the bold dark "racing" stripe along the upper outer face of the hind femur, the stripe typically replaced by a less contrasting herringbone pattern. The overall coloration is rather different as well, dark parts of the pattern are often less developed, but sometimes black lines on the pronotum are actually more contrasting. Green individuals are common" (BugGuide, 2015).

There are 94 records in the project database.

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A Two-striped Grasshopper in Harford Co., Maryland (9/4/2017). Verified by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Dave Webb. (MBP list)

An ovipositing female Two-striped Grasshopper in Baltimore Co., Maryland (8/7/2014). Photo by Brandon Woo. (MBP list)

A female Two-striped Grasshopper ovipositing in Garrett Co., Maryland (8/30/2020). Verified by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Jim Moore. (MBP list)

A female Two-striped Grasshopper in Baltimore Co., Maryland (8/11/2018). Verified by Brandon Woo, who notes that "this purplish color form is common at Soldiers Delight but I have not seen it elsewhere." Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

A female Two-striped Grasshopper in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (7/9/2011). Photo by Rod Burley. (MBP list)

A Two-striped Grasshopper in Howard Co., Maryland (8/31/2017). Determined by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Sue Muller. (MBP list)

A Two-striped Grasshopper in Washington Co., Maryland (8/19/2018). Determined by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Jim Moore. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Caroline Co., Maryland (7/28/2018). Determined by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

A female Two-striped Grasshopper in Worcester Co., Maryland (7/13/2015). Determined by Brandon Woo/BugGuide. Photo by Scott Housten. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (8/26/2022). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

A Two-striped Grasshopper in St. Mary's Co., Maryland (9/6/2015). Photo by Tyler Bell. (MBP list)

A Two-striped Grasshopper in Prince George's Co., Maryland (9/4/2020). Determined by T. Hedlund/BugGuide. Photo by Barbara Thurlow. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (8/23/2020). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

A Two-striped Grasshopper nymph in Baltimore City, Maryland (7/11/2006). Determined by David J. Ferguson/BugGuide. Photo by Thomas Wilson. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Washington Co., Maryland (7/22/2022). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Frode Jacobsen. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Prince George's Co., Maryland (8/5/2016). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Caroline Co., Maryland (6/29/2012). (c) 116916927065934112165, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA). Photo by Matt Muir via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (9/13/2020). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (9/2/2020). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Baltimore Co., Maryland (8/2/2014). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

A nymph Two-striped Grasshopper in Howard Co., Maryland (6/12/2015). Determined by David J. Ferguson/BugGuide. Photo by Kurt Schwarz. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Garrett Co., Maryland (7/24/2022). (c) Alina Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY). Photo by Alina Martin via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Two-striped Grasshopper in Polk Co., Iowa (9/11/2010). Photo by Aaron Brees. (MBP list)


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