Dactylotum bicolor
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Dactylotum bicolor, also known as the rainbow grasshopper, painted grasshopper, pictured grasshopper, or the barber pole grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is native to the United States, Canada and northern Mexico and exhibits aposematism (warning coloration). It was first described by the German entomologist Toussaint de Charpentier in 1843.
Dactylotum bicolor grows to an average length of about 20 mm (0.8 in) for males and 35 mm (1.4 in) for females. It is mainly black with distinctive reddish and yellowish markings, a pale green prothorax and pale green wingpads. The tibia of the hind leg bears six to eight spines. This species does not develop wings and is unable to fly.
Before the discovery of Dichroplus silveiraguidoi... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainbow Grasshopper sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 59th most-seen of the 329 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rainbow Grasshopper in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rainbow Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Rainbow Grasshopper sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (United States, about 40%).
Same family: Acrididae
The closest relatives of the Rainbow Grasshopper that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Gray Bird Grasshopper (about 20%), Pallid-Winged Grasshopper (about 20%) and Red-Winged Grasshopper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rainbow Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend National Park (34 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
