Pink grasshopper update

Back on March 12, I reported on a peculiar pink grasshopper found by Kristen Lauer. See that post HERE. From Kristen's photos, it appeared that the animal was a first stage instar; the earliest phase of growth. Grasshoppers, depending upon the species, apparently have between four and six instars, or growth stages. Their development is a simple metamorphosis - the young insects look essentially just like the adults, only smaller, and the wings are not fully developed. With each molt, the young grasshopper becomes larger and more developed.

Anyway, I encouraged Kristen to keep the animal and stoke its appetite with iceberg lettuce or other tasty fare. She's done an admirable job of raising the little pink hopper, and sent along the following photos today.

Photo: Kristen Lauer

As we can see, the insect has retained its pinkness following its first molt in captivity. It is now a bit bigger, wings are more fully developed, and it may even be a shade pinker.

My original post stimulated a comment from Carl Strang of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County (Illinois). I think Carl may have nailed the identification; his comment follows:

"The ridge through the grasshopper’s eye reminds me of another group, the band-winged grasshoppers. The earliest singing insect in northeast Illinois, the greenstriped grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifascitata) overwinters as nymphs and is displaying by late April or early May".

Regards,

Carl Strang
Naturalist
Office of Education - Mayslake
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Photo: Kristen Lauer

With luck, all will go well for the little beast in captivity, and it'll continue through its various instars and eventually reach adulthood. It'll be interesting to see its shade of pinkness when fully developed.

Thanks to Kristen for working with the animal, and providing this update.

Pink grasshopper!

 Photo: Kristen Lauer

One nevers knows what one might find upon checking their email, and to my delight, yesterday it was this astonishing beast. Kristen Lauer, who lives in Dayton, wandered into her backyard prairie patch the other day and was stopped in her tracks by an animated jot of neon pink. Fortunately, she was able to capture the animal, take it inside and obtain some photos.

Kristen works as the Education/Information Specialist at the Montgomery Soil & Water Conservation District (friend her on Facebook RIGHT HERE!), and had attended the inaugural Midwest Native Plant Conference in Dayton in 2009. That year, Cheryl Harner brought the original Pinky the pink katydid to the conference, and was displaying the extraordinary creature in a terrarium. Kristen had seen the odd chartreuse katydid there, and knew upon spotting this grasshopper that she had made a noteworthy find.

 Photo: Kristen Lauer

This animal is a newly emerged nymph - note the tiny wing "buds". If all goes well for the grasshopper, it will eventually molt into an adult with fully developed wings, and it'll be interesting to see if it retains its veneer of shocking pink.

 Photo: Kristen Lauer

I do not know grasshoppers very well, especially when they are in their nymph stages, and even more especially when they are an unnatural shade of day-glo pink. That said, I wonder if this "pinky" is one of the species in the genus Melanoplus, which includes our very common and widespread differential grasshopper, M. differentialis. I think that at least some of these species, which overwinter as eggs, hatch very early in the year and nymphs can be found by now.

Photo: Kristen Lauer

For a brief description of what causes pinkness in animals - a condition known as erythrism - CLICK HERE. Erythrochroic animals seem especially well represented in the Orthoptera, which includes katydids and grasshoppers.

Kristen is keeping the pink katydid, and it is living large in vegetated quarters free of any of the myriad enemies that can do in a critter like this. It'll be interesting to see how its growth progresses. I'll keep you posted if there are any updates, and thanks to Kristen for sharing her find!