(Photos and article by Anita Fernandez)
When you think of a grasshopper, you probably imagine a small, jumping animal that is green. After all, the word grass is right there in the name. However, this grasshopper, the Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina), exhibits a phenomenon known among several members of its genus as pigment plasticity. This color variation could have arisen as an adaptation or because of the individual’s lifestyle. For example, if all members of your species are brown, and your predator learns what you look like, being a different color could have a significant advantage. Another possibility is due to the habitat and food changes during their lifetime. Like all insects, the Carolina Grasshopper molts into a larger exoskeleton as it grows, since the exoskeleton itself cannot grow the way that our skin can. As it matures, the grasshopper survives in varying microhabitats and possibly on differing diets. The individual can move from denser plant material among flowers, to grasses, to its preferred habitat of disturbed and dusty places. They are flexible feeders that consume a wide variety of grasses, forbs, horsetails, and sedges, but also can attack crops of wheat, potatoes, and corn. Due to all this lifestyle variety, it’s no surprise that body coloration variety happens. Regardless of the color morphs (some can be yellow, orange, or even black), once their final form hardens and is exposed to sunlight, they are most likely to settle on a grey-brown coloration because as adults they often reside on sandy trails, parking lots, or other “drab” areas. To add to the variation, they are also often confused for a butterfly, usually the Mourning Cloak, due to the dark coloration and light marginal banding of their inner wings that resembles this butterfly species.
