Bug FAQRainbow Grasshopper
Dactylotum bicolor · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Acrididae
Also called: Pictured Grasshopper
Rainbow grasshoppers are about 20 mm long for males and 35 mm for females and cannot fly. They are black with reddish, yellowish and pale green markings, and some subspecies show a purplish sheen. They live in short-grass prairie, desert grasslands and alfalfa fields across the western Great Plains and into northern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The insect is mainly black with reddish and yellowish spots, a pale green prothorax and pale green wing pads. Subspecies differ: one has little red, another distinct red marks, and another a violet sheen on the black background.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males grow to about 20 mm (0.8 in) and females to about 35 mm (1.4 in). They do not develop wings and cannot fly.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults eat many kinds of plants, while nymphs in Arizona and New Mexico feed only on Wright's false willow. They are unpalatable to birds.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There is one generation per year, with adults present until September or October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do rainbow grasshoppers eat?
Adults are polyphagous and feed on many plant species, while the nymphs feed exclusively on Wright's false willow in Arizona and New Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
When are rainbow grasshoppers active?
Adults appear from late spring or early summer and remain until September or October.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Acrididae)
Differential GrasshopperMelanoplus differentialisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Two-striped GrasshopperMelanoplus bivittatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Carolina GrasshopperDissosteira carolinaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Field GrasshopperChorthippus brunneus
Egyptian Bird GrasshopperAnacridium aegyptium
Gray Bird GrasshopperSchistocerca nitensDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactylotum_bicolor
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.