Melanoplus differentialis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis) is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is found throughout northern Mexico, the central United States and southern Ontario, Canada. It is considered a pest over most of its range.
Adult males grow to 28–37 mm, and females grow to 34–50 mm. They are brownish or greenish, and as they age the color will darken. Some nymphs can be bright yellow. There are black grooves on the pronotum. The male has bootlike appendages at the end of its abdominal tip. There are inverted chevrons along the hind femur, and the hind part of the tibia is yellowish with black spikes. All adults have yellow tarsi and antennae, or in some cases reddish-yellow antennae.
The differential grasshopper is found throughout most of the United States, except for the northwest. Within its range, it is most often found in heavily weeded areas and grasslands, and even in vacant lots and other urban areas. This species is not migratory, but can travel a few miles to search for food. In the northern part of its range, M. differentialis is about as numerous as the two-striped grasshopper (Melanoplus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Differential Grasshopper sighting in Sacramento on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 386 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Differential Grasshopper in Sacramento on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months. Those are among Sacramento's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in December.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Differential 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.
19th of 24
Of the 24 cities where we can rate Differential Grasshopper sightings, Sacramento ranks 19th at under 5%. The best odds are in Salt Lake City (United States, about 30%), León (México, about 20%) and San Luis Potosí (México, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Differential Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Sacramento (14 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.
