June 8, 2024

I am an American Bird Grasshopper

In Florida I am a citrus crop pest

I don't have a lot of predators

But Cattle Egrets think I taste the best. 

Location: Apalachicola National Forest

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/american_grasshopper.htm

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

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January 24, 2022

I am an American Bird Grasshopper

When I want to have babies, I dig -

I lay about 70 eggs in the soil, they hatch

Then go through five or six instars before they get big.

Location: Fort Pierce Inlet State Park

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/american_grasshopper.htm

https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/glossary/terms/instar/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 18, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I am an American Bird Grasshopper
I am known to defoliate citrus
When my friends and I gather in large numbers
We eat leaves and will not leave a witness.

Sources: UF|IFAS Featured Creatures - American Grasshopper

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 1, 2018

Location: Vero Beach, Lagoon Greenway

I'm an adult American Bird Grasshopper,
I go though six instars in my life.
During my third, fourth and fifth I damage
Crops with my voracious appetite.

Sources: UF | IFAS Featured Creatures - American Grasshopper

Photo and text © 2018 Dee Fairbanks Simpson