Dissosteira carolina

Large size (32–58 mm body length, females larger than males) with wingspread of 75 mm in males and 80–102 mm in females. Tegmina tan to gray-brown, unicolorous or faintly spotted, matching soil substrates. Hindwings black with pale yellow margin, revealed in flight. Pronotum with high median carina deeply cut by one sulcus. Hind femur with inner knee tan or fuscous, basal half of inner medial and lower marginal areas fuscous, distal half with two pale yellow transverse bands. Nymphs identifiable by triangular lateral foveolae, elevated pronotal carina, and hind tibia color patterns varying by instar.

Weedy grasslands, disturbed areas, blowouts, field margins, roadside strips, fence rows, railway cuttings, and rangeland with interspersed bare ground. Prefers dry, sunny, open areas for basking, courtship displays, and oviposition. Often found on compacted bare ground such as dirt roads and gravel edges.

North America from southern Canada (British Columbia to Atlantic Coast) throughout the United States (east Coast to Florida, west to Idaho).

Intermediate-hatching species. Hatching begins early to late June in eastern Wyoming; timing varies with latitude and altitude. Adults appear May in New Mexico and eastern Nebraska, early July in eastern Wyoming, late July in western Idaho. Adults present until September–October when oviposition occurs.

Polyphagous, feeding on both grasses and forbs. Diet composition varies by habitat availability. Observed to feed readily on Bromus inermis, Bromus tectorum, Pascopyrum smithii, wheat, barley, dandelion, and Bassia in laboratory tests. In disturbed sites reseeded with smooth brome, 98% of diet may be Bromus inermis; in weedy sites, 64% weeds and 33% native grasses. Also observed feeding on kochia, Russian thistle, Buchloe dactyloides, and ground litter.

One-year life cycle with eggs overwintering in soil. Egg development occurs primarily in spring; hatching extends over at least two weeks, sometimes several weeks with multiple instars coexisting. Nymphal period 40–55 days depending on altitude and temperature (52 days at 25°C, 26 days at 30°C in laboratory). Females require approximately nine weeks from adult emergence to reach sexual maturity and begin oviposition. Oviposition occurs late summer to early autumn.

Diurnal and terrestrial. Morning basking for 2–3 hours beginning ~2 hours after sunrise, turning side perpendicular to sun and lowering hindleg to expose abdomen. Afternoon basking from ~3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Males perform hovering flight displays 3–6 feet above ground for 8–15 seconds, producing soft sibilant sounds, repeated up to five times; this attracts females and other males. Males stridulate using alternate hindleg movement against tegmina for 5+ minutes when courting. Copulation may last up to 16 hours. When threatened, escapes by flying at nearly right angles to predator approach path rather than directly away. Rapid wing color transition during flight (camouflage to contrast in <9 ms, reverse in <15 ms) creates unstable, confusing image. Hindwings transition ~6 times/second between pauses and active beating (>30 beats/second). Attracted to lights on warm summer nights. When hot (>43°C ground, >32°C air), stilts on vegetation 2.5–7.5 mm above substrate, facing sun with only head exposed.

Herbivore in grassland ecosystems. Prey for various birds, pallid bats, Carolina wolf spiders, praying mantis, and great black wasps. Contributes to nutrient cycling through feeding and excretion. Rare pink morph individuals have reduced survival due to poor crypsis.

Minor pest of rangeland grasses; populations irrupt infrequently and may disperse to damage crops including wheat, alfalfa, tobacco, beans, maize, sorghum, cotton, and potato. Notable outbreaks occurred in southern Saskatchewan (1933–1934), Arizona (1935), and Oklahoma. Often mistaken for butterflies (particularly mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa) due to large size and bobbing flight.

• Dissosteira longipennisHigh Plains grasshopper in same genus; D. carolina distinguished by black hindwings with yellow margin versus D. longipennis with different wing coloration and longer wings relative to body
• Nymphalis antiopaMourning cloak butterfly; D. carolina frequently mistaken for this species due to similar large size, dark wings, and lazy bobbing flight pattern
• Trimerotropis speciesOther band-winged grasshoppers; D. carolina distinguished by larger size, specific black-and-yellow hindwing pattern, and pronotal carina structure

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Carolina Grasshopper
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Field Guide
• List of Species Fact Sheets| Grasshoppers of Wyoming and the West
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Grasshoppers of Colorado
• Risk factors and escape strategy in the grasshopper Dissosteira carolina
• Uncertainty analyses of the behaviour of the Carolina locust, Dissosteira Carolina (Orthoptera: Acrididae)
• VISUAL AND ACOUSTICAL COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOUR IN DISSOSTEIRA CAROLINA (ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIDAE)