Western-kansas-outbreak
Guides
Aeoloplides turnbulli
thistle grasshopper, Russian thistle grasshopper, saltbush grasshopper
Aeoloplides turnbulli is a medium-sized, robust spur-throated grasshopper in the family Acrididae, commonly known as the thistle grasshopper or Russian thistle grasshopper. The species exhibits two recognized subspecies: A. t. turnbulli in the north and A. t. bruneri in the south, distinguished primarily by wing length. It is an early-hatching species with a prolonged nymphal development period of 50–60 days. The species has demonstrated outbreak potential, with historical population irruptions documented in western Kansas during the 1930s and in the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming, in 1993.