While looking for reptiles and amphibians in a Missouri glade, I came across several of these distinctive looking insects.
This is a large, light brown-to-gray grasshopper with extensive dark spotting. Its flying wings can be red, orange, or yellow; bordered with a black band and a long spur; the outer edge is transparent.
The Haldeman’s Grasshopper is a resident primarily of prairies west from southernmost Canada to Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico, and from Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas to almost or to just barely the east base of the Rockies.
This creature’s habitat is open grasslands, especially situations with gravelly patches. It can be found in both flatlands and hillsides, as well as in sandhills areas. It is a common species and is not too picky about where it lives, as long as the habitat is relatively dry, has vegetation, and is open and sunny.
The Haldeman’s Grasshopper eats mostly grasses, but also consumes a wide range of herbaceous plants, and occasionally other insects. It overwinters as an immature grasshopper and reaches adulthood in its second Summer. Adult females are significantly larger than males.
Most often seen as adults in June and July, this was the first time I’ve come across these cool creatures.