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Grasshoppers of Zihuatanejo

INFRAORDER ACRIDIDEA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids (Order Orthoptera)

-Grasshoppers, Locusts, and Allies (Suborder Caelifera)

-Grasshoppers (Infraorder Acrididea)

-Short-horned Grasshoppers and Locusts (Superfamily Acridoidea)

-Short-horned Grasshoppers (Family Acrididae)

-Subfamily Ommatolampidina​

-Tribe Abracrini

-Genus Abracris

-Abracris flavolineata


Abracris flavolineata is diurnal and ground-active, frequently seen basking in sunlight on low vegetation or bare soil. When disturbed, it makes powerful jumps and may fly short distances. Compared with many grassland species, it is relatively conspicuous and slow to flush, relying partly on its dark coloration rather than crypsis alone. A. flavolineata is herbivorous, feeding on a variety of grasses and broad-leaved plants. It is considered a generalist feeder and is not usually regarded as a serious agricultural pest, though it may occasionally be locally abundant.

Abracris flavolineata

Abracris flavolineata

Description

  • Abracris flavolineata is a medium-sized short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae and tribe Abracrini. Adults are slender to moderately robust, with long hind legs adapted for jumping and relatively long wings. Colouration is variable but commonly green, brown, or yellowish, with contrasting longitudinal markings.

Range

  • Abracris flavolineata has a broad Neotropical distribution extending from Mexico through Central America and into northern and central South America. It is native to Mexico and occurs in tropical regions of the country; it may be encountered around Zihuatanejo in suitable vegetation.

Habitat

  • Adults inhabit warm, open and semi-open environments including tropical forest, scrub, grassland, forest edges, agricultural areas, and disturbed vegetation. They are generally associated with herbaceous plants and shrubs and are active during warm, sunny conditions.

Diet

  • Abracris flavolineata is primarily herbivorous, feeding on the leaves and other green parts of grasses, herbs, and other plants. Like other grasshoppers, it uses its chewing mouthparts to consume plant tissue, and its diet may vary according to the vegetation available in its habitat.

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