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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Differential Grasshopper sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 188th most-seen of the 431 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.
July and September–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Differential Grasshopper in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and December–June, the lowest months.
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.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Differential Grasshopper sightings, Cumbres de Monterrey National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%), Badlands National Park (United States, about 10%) and Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Acrididae
The closest relatives of the Differential Grasshopper that you can see in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Gray Bird Grasshopper (about 10%), Rainbow Grasshopper (about 10%) and Schistocerca impleta (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Differential Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (13 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.
