Carolina Grasshopper

Individuals of Dissosteira carolina reach over 32–58 mm in length. They tend to be conspicuous due to their size, colorful wings, and because they habitually fly over dirt roads and other bare ground. The spread wings of the males measure 75 mm across, while those of the females measure 80–102 mm. The tegmina are light brown to tan to gray, tending towards camouflage with the dirt where they bask or hide, whereas the inner wings used for flight are brownish-black with yellow margins and a ridge running down the back. When taking off to escape predators, the black-and-yellow hindwings are revealed extremely quickly, causing the visible portion of the grasshopper to shift from camouflage (~100% brown) to contrast (50+% black-and-yellow) and roughly double in size in less than 9 ms; when landing, the reverse transition occurs in less than 15 ms. Due to these rapid transitions, human observers may see the grasshopper as appearing and disappearing instantaneously. Additionally, during flight, the hindwings transition ~6 times per second between pauses and periods of active wing-beating, during which the wings beat over 30 times per second. This creates an unstable, confusing image. Because of their large size and rather lazy bobbing flight, they are often mistaken for a butterfly, especially the mourning cloak Nymphalis antiopa. …

Dissosteira carolina is found in North America in southern Canada from British Columbia to the Atlantic Coast and in the United States from the east Coast as far south as Florida and as far west as Idaho.