I took this picture a few years ago and had forgotten about it. My white phlox plant still had a few flowers then, but later, most of the white flowers got eaten by this grasshopper and his friends.
I’m not crazy about insects, but this grasshopper had rather pretty markings. I tried to find out what kind he was. The closest I could find was a two-striped grasshopper. It looks to me that this guy has only one stripe but maybe they are counting the identical stripe on the other side of his body. Any ideas for an accurate I.D.?
I recommend “The Phlox” for lunch,
With seating for a crowd,
Delicious food on offer here,
So far, it’s not too loud.
I’ve stuffed my face with flowers white,
They’re delicate to chew,
If you don’t join me soon, I say,
That’s just too bad for you.
I thought she grew these plants for us,
Perennials you know,
And yet she shoos us all away,
“Get out! It’s time to go!”



August 5, 2023 at 5:00 pm
It seems like you have the proper identification, Anneli. Grasshoppers down here are much lighter in body color but they make the same cool sound. About two years ago, we had a massive swarm of them, and after looking into why, it was determined that the city lights attracted the swarm. When riding my bike in spring, they sometimes come up by the dozen and hit my body including my face! 😂
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August 5, 2023 at 5:42 pm
Good time to have a plexiglass face mask.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:58 pm
I never wear one.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:59 pm
So we’ll know you, the happy motorist, by the bugs between your teeth.
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August 5, 2023 at 6:01 pm
😂👍🏻 So good, Anneli.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:02 pm
Anneli, it looks like a two striped grasshopper.Sent from my Galaxy
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August 5, 2023 at 5:41 pm
Good to have your confirmation on it. That’s the closest I could find to its colouring too.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:22 pm
Does he come with a sweet red chili dipping sauce? Ha ha ha.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:43 pm
It’s interesting you should say that. I read that grasshoppers are okay to eat, but you should get them from a “grasshopper farm” where they don’t eat toxic plants. Think I’ll pass though, with or without the chili sauce.
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August 5, 2023 at 5:27 pm
Love it!
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August 5, 2023 at 5:44 pm
Thanks, Suzanne. They do have nice lines.
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August 5, 2023 at 6:47 pm
We’re seeing a lot of crickets, but not many grasshoppers this year. Kind of cute except when they’re chomping on your flowers 😏. I like your poem.
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August 5, 2023 at 10:06 pm
Thanks a lot, Belinda.
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August 5, 2023 at 7:35 pm
A 2 striper it is. They do come in some pretty amazing colours. Cheers. Allan
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August 5, 2023 at 10:06 pm
Tnx, Allan.
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August 5, 2023 at 7:48 pm
I looked this one up and it is indeed a two-striped grasshopper or
Here’s the website. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanoplus
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August 5, 2023 at 7:50 pm
I seem to have lost my reply (or maybe you have it!). It’s known as a melanoplus. Great poem, Anneli. Cheers.
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August 5, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Here’s the website. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanoplus
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August 5, 2023 at 10:09 pm
Yes, it does look like that one.
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August 5, 2023 at 10:10 pm
Thanks, Lynette. Pretty bug, isn’t it?
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August 5, 2023 at 9:06 pm
Spur-throated grasshopper it is. I love insects (they freak me out though). The flowers are really pretty. They must be full of perfume?
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August 5, 2023 at 10:11 pm
Thanks for that I.D., Kajal. As for the flowers, I’ll have to go give them a sniff tomorrow.
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August 6, 2023 at 12:14 am
I have never seen such a big, fat and colourful grasshopper. He looks impressive.
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August 6, 2023 at 9:36 am
I felt the same way. I think that’s why I bothered with a photo. He seemed to be so bright and colourful.
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August 6, 2023 at 5:49 am
When walking Rango (my dog), he can scoop and chew with missing a beat. I never have a chance to see what color of grasshopper!
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August 6, 2023 at 9:43 am
He sounds dangerous (to a grasshopper). Just imagine if he’d been around for a plague of locusts in the grain fields. He would have been worth his weight in gold. Probably would have had to bring all his friends to help.
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August 6, 2023 at 9:26 am
At least it isn’t locusts.
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August 6, 2023 at 9:50 am
I had to go look up the difference between the two and it is very slight. Mainly their behaviour is different, locusts being more gregarious where grasshoppers are more solitary, and in some small ways they are structurally different. They look very similar and belong to the same family (Acrididae).
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August 6, 2023 at 10:09 am
I was thinking of the virulent locust swarms that destroy swaths of plants, but I might be wrong about that.
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August 6, 2023 at 10:11 am
Yes, the same. That’s what happens when they get together in mobs. They swarm the “store” and leave a path of destruction in their wake.
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August 6, 2023 at 11:48 am
Thanks for sharing this idea with this grasshopper..we saw this here in our area. Anita
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August 8, 2023 at 3:48 am
Anneli, a terrific photo of the grasshopper but your poor phlox! Your lovely poem did put the grasshopper’s side of the situation very well! Why else indeed would they think we humans planted them?!😀
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August 8, 2023 at 9:34 am
LOL Of course! That’s why I planted the phlox. What was I thinking when I bemoaned the ruined flowers? It’s just as I planned it (“Heh heh,” she laughs nervously).
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August 8, 2023 at 1:02 pm
I think it must be the two stripes on his leg. They form little arrowheads/chevrons. I like grasshoppers and how they click when they fly, but not when they eat flowers!
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August 8, 2023 at 9:31 pm
I hadn’t realized they could look so beautiful with those designs and colours.
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August 9, 2023 at 6:54 am
Mother nature never ceases to amaze. 🙂
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August 9, 2023 at 5:58 am
Regardless of the type, these guys have BIG appetites. Thanks for the smile, I loved your poem. 🙂
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August 9, 2023 at 12:39 pm
Thanks, Mark. They sure ate a lot of phlox. Glad you liked my ditty.
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November 6, 2023 at 10:57 am
Quite a good-sized grasshopper, and definitely well-fed. When I returned to eastern Montana in the mid-1980s, the grain fields were swarming with hungry grasshoppers.
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November 6, 2023 at 9:19 pm
“One” is beautiful. “One million” … not so much.
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