''Tropidacris cristata'', the giant red-winged grasshopper, is a widespread species of lubber grasshopper in 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 ...

from tropical South and Central America, and Mexico. It is among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to and respectively. More typical adult lengths are , average , in males and , average , in females. As suggested by the common name, adult ''T. cristata'' have conspicuously red wings in flight, although the exact red hue varies. The flightless and gregarious

nymphs 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 ...

have

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

dark-and-yellow stripes and are presumed to be toxic. ''T. cristata'' occurs in a wide range of habitats, both in lowlands and highlands. In the southern part of its distribution, it is largely restricted to humid and semi-humid forested regions, avoiding places that are open and dry, but in the northern part it also occurs in somewhat drier habitats. It is generally quite common, although the blue-winged '' T. collaris'' often is more common where their ranges overlap in South America (only ''T. cristata'' is found in some parts of northwestern South America and in Central America). ''T. cristata'' feeds on many types of plants and occasionally it is regarded as a pest. The lifecycle is annual with overlapping generations, but in some regions there is a level of seasonality in the occurrence of adults and nymphs. The female lays an egg sac that contains up to 100 eggs in the soil.

Subspecies

There are three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''Tropidacris cristata'': * ''Tropidacris cristata cristata'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) – central and northern South America (west of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

south to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, east of the Andes south to the

Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

region), southern Central America (

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

), and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

* ''Tropidacris cristata dux'' (

Drury Drury may refer to: Places * Drury, New Zealand, a town * Drury, a village near Buckley, Flintshire, Wales * Drury, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Drury, a village in Florida, Massachusetts, United States * Drury, Missouri, ...

, 1770) –

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and Central America (south to

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

) * ''Tropidacris cristata grandis'' ( Thunberg, 1824) – south-central South America (northernmost

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, easternmost

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and southern and southeastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

; a few records from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, which typically is inhabited by ''T. c. cristata'') File:Tropidacris cristata MtPine.jpg, All three subspecies vary in colors, but ''T. c. dux'' commonly is quite yellowish File:Giant Grasshopper (Tropidacris cristata) (36316477160).jpg, The red wings typical of this species

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10287970 Romaleidae Insects described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus