''Romalea'' is a genus of

grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

native to the Southeastern and South-central United States. As traditionally defined, it contains a single species, ''Romalea microptera'', known commonly as the Georgia thumper, eastern lubber grasshopper, Florida lubber, or Florida lubber grasshopper, although some recent authorities regard '' Taeniopoda'' as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

, in which case there are about a dozen ''Romalea'' species in the southern United States, Mexico and Central America. ''R. microptera'' is one of the most distinctive grasshopper species within the Southeastern US, and is well known for its relatively large size and its unique coloration.

Taxonomy

''Romalea'' is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the family

Romaleidae The Romaleidae or lubber grasshoppers are a family of grasshoppers, based on the type genus ''Romalea''. The species in this family can be found in the Americas. It is known to be polyphagous, but there is not much else known regarding its diet ...

and tribe Romaleini. It has been suggested that the valid name for ''Romalea microptera'' is ''Romalea guttata''. However, ''microptera'' has been marked as a ''

nomen protectum In zoological nomenclature, a ''nomen oblitum'' (plural: ''nomina oblita''; Latin for "forgotten name") is a disused scientific name which has been declared to be obsolete (figuratively "forgotten") in favor of another "protected" name. In its pr ...

'' by the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

, making ''guttata'' a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

. As traditionally defined, ''Romalea'' only contains the species ''R. microptera'', but recent authorities regard '' Taeniopoda'' as a

, in which case there are about a dozen ''Romalea'' species. ''Romalea'' and ''Taeniopoda'' have generally been separated based on color and

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

, but more comprehensive morphological data and genetic data do not support their separation. Their wild distributions do not overlap, but in captivity ''R. microptera'' can produce fertile hybrids at least with '' T. eques'' (western horse lubber grasshopper), showing their very close relations.

Life cycle

''R. microptera'' grows through several stages, like all insects. When in the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

stage, it is smaller than in the adult stage, wingless, and completely black with one or more yellow, orange, or red stripes. The adult stage has wings that are half the length of its body, and become either a dull yellow often characterized by black spots and markings, a bright orange with black markings, or entirely black (as in the nymph stage) with yellow or red striping. In the black adult color phase, the grasshopper is widely known by the name "diablo" or "black diablo". In Louisiana, they are known as the "devil's horse" or '. The insect is also colloquially known as a "graveyard grasshopper". In Mississippi, they are known as the "giant locust".

Range

''R. microptera'' inhabits regions west of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and Texas, and throughout Florida. They live in open pinewoods, weedy vegetation, and weedy fields.

Size and wings

''R. microptera'' and ''Taeniopoda eques'' (western horse lubber grasshopper) are the largest grasshoppers in the United States. Adult males of ''R. microptera'' typically are long and adult females long, but can exceptionally reach . Their wings are rarely half the length of the abdomen; most of the time, they are much smaller, and cannot be used for flight.

Defense

''R. microptera'' has several defense strategies. The first is its brightly colored pattern (aposematism) to warn predators that it is unpleasant tasting. The second is that it emits a foul-smelling and foul-tasting, foamy secretion from its thorax when it is disturbed. The secretion is dark colored and opaque. The final strategy is that it lets off a loud hissing sound which can scare animals. Whereas most predatory vertebrates avoid ''R. microptera'' because of its toxicity, this does not protect it from predatory invertebrates; however, most predatory invertebrates are unable to catch and kill adult ''R. microptera'' because of its relatively large size.

Research

A quantitative analysis of the distribution of tritium labeled DNA among chromosomes during meiosis in ''Romalea microptera'' led to the conclusion that most exchanges reflected breakage and reciprocal exchange between (non-sister) homologous chromatids.

Gallery

File:Eastern Lubber Grasshopper in Everglades National Park.jpg, Female eastern lubber grasshopper (''R. microptera'') in Everglades National Park, Florida File:Romaleidae - Romalea guttata.jpg, Close-up of ''R. microptera'' from the Everglades File:Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Nymph.jpg, Nymph ''R. microptera'' with its characteristic black and yellow-striped body File:Eastern Lubber Grasshopper.jpg, Lubber grasshopper, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Delray, Florida File:Romalea microptera UMFS 2016 3.jpg, Adult dark morph, University of Mississippi Field Station File:Romalea microptera Fort Myers FL.jpg, ''R. microptera'', Fort Myers, Florida File:Romalea microptera (eastern lubber grasshopper).jpg, ''R. microptera'' at Bear Island Campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve File:Romalea Grasshopper Louisiana Wetland Area.jpg, Louisiana Romalea Grasshopper From Louisiana Wetlands, Lake Pontchartrain.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q310265, from2=Q14285676 Romaleidae Orthoptera of North America Insects described in 1817