Ligurotettix

Distinguished from other slant-faced grasshoppers by the row of stridulatory pegs on the inside of the hind femur used to produce the characteristic clicking sounds. Males produce a low 'tsick-tsick' stridulation with ventriloquistic quality. Specific species identification requires examination of morphological details; L. coquilletti is dark gray, 18–25 mm in length, with transparent hind wings.

Arid and semi-arid desert environments. L. coquilletti is most commonly associated with creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), but also occurs on mesquite (Prosopis spp.), jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), allscale (Atriplex polycarpa), and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Females oviposit in bare soil in open areas away from host plants.

Southwestern North America, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and southward into Mexico. GBIF records indicate presence in Arizona, California, Mexico Northeast, and Nevada.

Adults present in May or early June. Eggs undergo diapause during winter, hatching in March or April. Immatures pass through five or six nymphal stages before reaching adulthood.

Feeds on creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and other desert shrubs including mesquite, jojoba, allscale, and sagebrush. Has a restricted range of host plants compared to many other grasshoppers.

• Larrea tridentata - primary host plantcreosote bush; males defend individual bushes as territories
• Prosopis spp. - host plantmesquite
• Simmondsia chinensis - host plantjojoba
• Atriplex polycarpa - host plantallscale
• Artemisia spp. - host plantsagebrush

Eggs deposited in bare soil in open areas; undergo winter diapause. Hatch in March or April. Five to six nymphal instars before adult emergence. Adults appear May to early June.

Males are highly sedentary, spending most of their adult lives on a single creosote bush. Defend individual host plants as mating territories through three-tiered territorial defense: stridulation, chasing, and fighting. Males produce repetitive acoustic clicking displays (stridulations) used for territorial advertisement; singing occurs early morning through late evening, dependent on temperature, with peak activity at dusk. Females are attracted to male songs but do not sing. Activity schedules are bimodal with midday plateau and sharp crepuscular peak; evening chorus represents mating investment with delayed returns.

Herbivore feeding on desert shrubs. Serves as prey for ground-foraging predators; subject to predation-driven balancing selection maintaining color polymorphism (banded and uniform morphs). Crypsis polymorphism provides camouflage against visually hunting predators.

• Other Gomphocerinae slant-faced grasshoppersShares slanted face and stridulatory pegs on hind femur; distinguished by specific acoustic signals and host plant associations
• Other Acrididae grasshoppersDistinguished by territorial behavior on individual host plants and distinctive 'clicker' acoustic displays

• grasshopper
• clicker
• acoustic communication
• territoriality
• desert
• crypsis
• polymorphism
• stridulation
• Gomphocerinae
• creosote bush

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bug Spotlight | Entomology Research Museum
• Field Guide Selected References
• Ecological basis and genetic architecture of crypsis polymorphism in the desert clicker grasshopper ( Ligurotettix coquilletti )
• The Evening Chorus of the Desert Clicker, Ligurotettix coquilletti (Orthoptera: Acrididae): Mating Investment with Delayed Returns