Circotettix rabula

Distinguished from other Circotettix species by combination of large size, pale greyish-brown coloration with darker markings, yellow wing disc with black band traces, and vertical face with rounded vertex. C. rabula rabula occurs at lower elevations (foothills to timberline) while C. rabula alterior occurs at higher altitudes. Differs from other band-winged grasshoppers in its specific wing pattern and body proportions.

Large grasshopper with pale greyish-brown general coloration and small darker markings. Face is vertical with rounded vertex. Antennae slender. Dorsal posterior margin of pronotum forms a rounded right angle; median carina cut by two sulci. Tegmina longer than body, speckled with spots sometimes forming indistinct bands. Wing disc yellow with traces of black band and spur; lateral margin of wing concave. Hind femora banded with brown and yellow on upper and inner surfaces. Hind tibiae buff, sometimes tinged with blue. Male length 45 mm; female 52 mm.

Arid areas including gravelly clearings among pines, dry clay banks facing sun, usually associated with rivers and ravines. In Colorado, found from foothills to timberline; subspecies C. rabula alterior occurs at higher elevations than C. rabula rabula.

Western North America: British Columbia to Manitoba (Canada), south through Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Present in most areas of Colorado.

Nymphs overwinter and emerge from May to mid-June. Adults appear mid-June and persist until early August.

Mixed feeder consuming moss and low-growing weeds. Specifically prefers loco (Astragalus/Oxytropis), vetch, sandwort, and bladderpod.

Eggs pale yellow, about 30 per pod arranged in three or four columns; egg length 5.2 mm, diameter 1.1 mm. Five nymphal instars. Nymphs overwinter. Oviposition on bare flat areas or rolling open hills.

Strong flier that commonly flushes ahead of sweep nets and flies long distances, making it difficult to collect with standard survey techniques. Exhibits behavioral thermoregulation with altitudinal variation in thermal strategies between populations.

Herbivore in montane grassland and forest edge ecosystems. Rarely becomes numerous; minimal competition with domestic livestock.

Minimal economic impact; not considered a pest species. Underrepresented in standard grasshopper surveys due to strong flight behavior that evades sweep net collection.

• Circotettix carlinianusSimilar genus and habitat; distinguished by specific wing patterns and body proportions
• Circotettix undulatusCongener with overlapping range; differs in wing pattern and elevation preferences
• Dissosteira carolinaSimilar strong flight behavior causing underrepresentation in surveys; larger size and different coloration

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Species Records and Accounts
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Wyoming Distribution Atlas
• Altitudinal Variation in Thermal Behavior of the Grasshopper Circotettix rabula (Rehn & Hebard) from Central Colorado