Melanoplus bivittatus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Melanoplus bivittatus, the two-striped grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae. It is commonly found in North America, and is especially abundant on the Canadian prairies. Melanoplus bivittatus is a relatively large species with sizes ranging from 30 to 55 mm. A pair of pale yellow stripes run along the top of its body from above its eyes to the hind tip of its wings, which gives it the names two-striped grasshopper or yellow-striped grasshopper. The species often has a yellowish green coloration throughout its body due to chromoprotein and carotenoids. The rest of the body looks similar to that of most grasshopper species, with enlarged hind legs for jumping and two pairs of wings, with one set overlapping the other.
During the winter, eggs are laid in the soil and hatch by late April to early May. At optimal conditions (25 °C, very moist), Melanoplus bivittatus eggs will stop developing at around 21 days. Once development stops, the eggs go into a state of diapause, with development continuing again in spring. Once temperatures are warm enough the eggs start hatching; the maximum rate of hatching occurs between... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Two-Striped Grasshopper sighting in Edmonton on a given day, based on 91 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 390 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Two-Striped Grasshopper in Edmonton on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months. Those are among Edmonton's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Two-Striped Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Two-Striped Grasshopper sightings, Edmonton ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Denver (United States, about 20%), Calgary (Canada, about 20%) and Montreal (Canada, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Two-Striped Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Edmonton (91 verified sightings), 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.
