Chimarocephala pacifica

(Thomas, 1873)

Painted Meadow Grasshopper, Painted Grasshopper

Species Guides

Chimarocephala pacifica is a band-winged grasshopper in the Acrididae, commonly known as the painted meadow . The occurs in western North America and Central America, with C. p. pacifica and C. p. incisa recognized. Males produce acoustic signals through stridulation and vibration for sexual communication, while both sexes employ visual signals including a waving gesture.

Chimarocephala pacifica by (c) Darin J McGuire, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Darin J McGuire. Used under a CC-BY license.

Chimarocephala pacifica by Rick Mandel. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Chimarocephala pacifica: //kɪˌmæroʊˈsɛfələ pəˈsɪfɪkə//

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Images

Habitat

Meadow and grassland in western regions.

Distribution

Western North America (including California) and Central America.

Behavior

Males stridulate and vibrate to communicate with females and other males; both sexes perform a waving gesture. Females exhibit cyclic phases of sexual receptivity and non-receptivity that dictate mating timing. Signals function in premating, mating, and disturbance/defense contexts.

More Details

Subspecies

Two are recognized: Chimarocephala pacifica pacifica and Chimarocephala pacifica incisa.

Acoustic communication

Males produce stridulations and substrate vibrations documented through oscillograms and spectrograms in behavioral studies.