Chortophaga viridifasciata

Chortophaga viridifasciata, the green-striped grasshopper, is a species of band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae.[1][2][3][4][5]

Chortophaga viridifasciata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Family: Acrididae
Genus: Chortophaga
Species:
C. viridifasciata
Binomial name
Chortophaga viridifasciata
(De Geer, 1773)

Range and habitat

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It is found in Central America and North America,[1][6] ranging from British Columbia to the Gulf of Mexico (mostly east of the Rocky Mountains), south to Costa Rica.[4]

Green-striped grasshoppers inhabit relatively moist areas of short grass, such as roadsides and hay meadows.

Life-cycle

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The green-striped grasshopper is single-brooded in the North and west of the Great Plains but is multiple-brooded in the Southeast.[4]

In the single-brooded range, green-striped grasshoppers' eggs are laid early in the summer season. These eggs hatch later in the same summer. The nymphs will molt three to four times before winter. The nymphs survive through the winter and then molt one or two more times to reach adulthood. C. viridifasciata is often the first grasshopper to appear in early spring because of its overwintering.[7]

Green-striped grasshoppers typically have five instars during development.[7]

Description

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Their size ranges from 23 to 30 mm for males and 28 to 38 mm for females. Females are typically green and males are typically brown but there is variation for both.[4]

Subspecies

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These two subspecies belong to the species Chortophaga viridifasciata:

Image Species Common name
  Chortophaga viridifasciata viridifasciata b Northern green-striped grasshopper
  Chortophaga viridifasciata australior b Southern green-striped grasshopper

Data sources: i = ITIS,[1] c = Catalogue of Life,[2] g = GBIF,[3] b = Bugguide.net[4]

The subspecies Chortophaga viridifasciata australior is sometimes listed as a separate species, but it intergrades northward with subspecies viridifasciata, making species level distinction unlikely.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Chortophaga viridifasciata Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  2. ^ a b "Chortophaga viridifasciata species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  3. ^ a b "Chortophaga viridifasciata". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Chortophaga viridifasciata Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  5. ^ "Chortophaga viridifasciata Overview". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  6. ^ Otte, Daniel; Cigliano, Maria Marta; Braun, Holger; Eades, David C. "Orthoptera Species File Online". Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Julianne Marie Peterson (1995). Microhabitat Selection, Characterization of Developmental Stages, and Life Cycles of Field Populations of the Grasshopper Species Chortophaga Viridifasciata (Orthoptera: Acrididae). North Carolina State University.

Further reading

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