Migratory grasshopper

Definition

A common name for Melanoplus sanguinipes, a species of spur-throated grasshopper (family Acrididae) native to North America and the Caribbean. The name refers to its capacity for long-distance dispersal flights, though it is less migratory than some related species such as the Rocky Mountain locust (historically) or the desert locust. Adults are recognized by reddish or pinkish hind tibiae and a dark, often chevron-marked pronotum. The species is a significant agricultural pest of small grains, forage crops, and range vegetation, with population outbreaks managed through integrated pest management strategies including biological control and reduced-area insecticide treatments.

Etymology

From Latin migrare (to move from place to place) + Old English gærs-hoppere (grass leaper), referring to the species' dispersive flight behavior and jumping locomotion.

Example

In outbreak years, migratory grasshopper densities can exceed 50 adults per square meter in northern Great Plains wheat fields, prompting aerial insecticide applications targeting nymphal bands before winged adults disperse.

Synonyms

• lesser migratory grasshopper
• red-legged grasshopper

Related Terms

• Melanoplus
• spur-throated grasshopper
• Acrididae
• locust
• grasshopper outbreak
• Integrated Pest Management
• rangeland entomology

Usage Notes

The common name 'migratory grasshopper' is somewhat misleading; while M. sanguinipes does undertake dispersal flights of tens to hundreds of kilometers, it lacks the phase polyphenism and transcontinental migration capacity of true locusts. Specialists often prefer the scientific name to avoid confusion with more strongly migratory species. The modifier 'lesser' distinguishes it from the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus), once called the 'greater migratory grasshopper.' In ecological and agricultural literature, the term may appear in both common and scientific name forms depending on journal conventions.