Tropidacris cristata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Tropidacris cristata, the giant red-winged grasshopper, is a widespread species of lubber grasshopper in the family Romaleidae from tropical South and Central America, and Mexico. It is among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in) and 24 cm (9.4 in) respectively. More typical adult lengths are 5.5–7 cm (2.2–2.8 in), average 6.5 cm (2.6 in), in males and 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in), average 11 cm (4.3 in), in females. As suggested by the common name, adult T. cristata have conspicuously red wings in flight, although the exact red hue varies. The flightless and gregarious nymphs have aposematic dark-and-yellow stripes and are presumed to be toxic.
T. cristata occurs in a wide range of habitats, both in lowlands and highlands. In the southern part of its distribution, it is largely restricted to humid and semi-humid forested regions, avoiding places that are open and dry, but in the northern part it also occurs in somewhat drier habitats. It is generally quite common, although the blue-winged T. collaris often is more common where their ranges overlap in South America (only T. cristata is found in some parts of northwestern South America and in Central America).
T. cristata feeds on many types of plants and occasionally it is regarded as a pest. The lifecycle is annual with overlapping generations, but in some regions there is a level of seasonality in the occurrence of adults and nymphs. The female lays an egg sac that contains up to 100 eggs in the soil. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 4 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 5 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 6 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 7 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 83 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.
February and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper in Carara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May, July and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
21st of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper sightings, Carara National Park ranks 21st at about 10%. The best odds are in Las Baulas Marine National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%) and Marino Ballena National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Orthoptera
The closest relatives of the Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper that you can see in Carara National Park (order Orthoptera, Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids) are Abracris flavolineata (about 10%) and Ischnomela gracilis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Giant Red-Winged Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Carara National Park (11 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.
