Trimerotropis pallidipennis
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The pallid-winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis) is a common grasshopper of the family Acrididae, native to the deserts of western North America along with South America, ranging from British Columbia to Argentina. They are more active during the summer months, and their pale, mottled coloration makes them hard to see against surfaces such as the granite often found in the gravel of dry river beds. They grow to be 37 millimetres (1.5 in). The behavior of the pallid-winged grasshopper is apparently determined by temperature, with foraging occurring at temperatures of 24–32 °C (75–90 °F) and mating at 30–40 °C (86–104 °F).
Like many band-winged grasshoppers in the subfamily Oedipodinae, males perform crepitation flights, producing crackling sounds with their wings when disturbed or during courtship. Males also stridulate in courtship, rubbing the hind femur against the forewing to make a trilling sound.
Populations of the pallid-winged grasshopper occasionally irrupt to damaging numbers. Between 1952 and 1980, there were six outbreaks in Arizona, only one of which lasted more than one year. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Pallid-Winged Grasshopper sighting in Las Vegas on a given day, based on 132 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 111 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pallid-Winged Grasshopper in Las Vegas on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pallid-Winged 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.
Among the best
Of the 18 cities where we can rate Pallid-Winged Grasshopper sightings, Las Vegas ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Mesa (United States, about 30%).
Same family: Acrididae
The closest relatives of the Pallid-Winged Grasshopper that you can see in Las Vegas (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Egyptian Bird Grasshopper (about 20%), Green Bird Grasshopper (about 10%) and Gray Bird Grasshopper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pallid-Winged Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Las Vegas (132 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.
