-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)

-​Bandwing Grasshoppers (Subfamily Oedipodinae)

-Tribe Arphiini

-Genus Lactista

Lactista species have a robust yet streamlined body with a fairly upright head (not slant-faced). Their body coloration is usually gray, tan, brown, or mottled, blending well with soil, rocks, and dry vegetation. When at rest, they appear cryptic, but in flight they reveal conspicuously banded hind wings, often with dark cross-bands and paler bases or margins—typical of band-winged grasshoppers. When approached, Lactista grasshoppers usually flush suddenly with a loud, crackling flight, a hallmark of band-winged grasshoppers. They often fly a considerable distance before landing. Some species may produce audible wing sounds during flight, and males may also stridulate during courtship.