Insect ID: HUGE black grasshopper with small yellow spots

Ichinisan · Jul 12, 2012

While walking yesterday evening, I came up to an area with a few bushes in a park. There were HUGE black grasshoppers with small yellow spots scattered all over the walkway in front of me. They might be crickets or locusts of some kind, but their bodies were more-similar to grasshoppers. Each big one was paired-up with a smaller male on its back. They crawled away instead of hopping (probably because they were paired-up and mating). It made them seem creepier and more spider-like.

I've been in GA all my life, but I've never seen these. They were all in a small area and mating en masse (some kind of grasshopper orgy), so I have to wonder if they're an invasive species about to have a population explosion. I looked more closely at the bushes and noticed there were dozens more all over. They were definitely fond of that particular kind of bush. None of them were eating. It was like they were waiting to be mounted by a mate.

I searched through some lists of "Georgia insects" and couldn't find anything like it. Then I found a picture on Flickr that looks just like it...and they happen to be mating. The photographer described them as "crazy grasshoppers," so they must have been unfamiliar to the photographer too.

Do grasshoppers in your region look like this?

[edit]
Hmm. Must be the "eastern lubber grasshopper"

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/04/06/eastern-lubber-grasshopper-5/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23665611@N08/4872193987

[edit]
Some of my pics:

epidemis · Jul 12, 2012

Awww, they are a cute L<

HydroSqueegee · Jul 12, 2012

i love Grasshoppers! but man, the hell with crickets.

I was strolling through the local state park one day and it must have been new baby cricket season. It sounded like hail hitting the underbrush around the trail as i was walking. But it was just all the baby crickets scattering out of my way. thousands of them. hundreds of thousands. very creepy.

mcveigh · Jul 12, 2012

I get ones like that in florida. but the ones here only are black with the spots like you show when they are babies. about 1-1.5 inches long. as adults they are 2-4 inches long and yellowish green.
we try to kill them because they eat your plants. They are huge! my cats like to bring them into the house and play with them.....the wife loves that

found it!
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/04/27/eastern-lubber-grasshopper-13/

Fritzo · Jul 12, 2012

Ah, the South American Testes-eater Locust. Very rare. They're unique in the insect world because once they get the scent of testicles, they stop at nothing to get them.

notposting · Jul 12, 2012

Hmm the Eastern Lubers having an orgy? No surprise there...:sneaky:

BoomerD · Jul 12, 2012

DrunkenSano · Jul 12, 2012

Testicle eating aliens.

Ichinisan · Jul 12, 2012

notposting said:
Hmm the Eastern Lubers having an orgy? No surprise there...:sneaky:

glen · Jul 12, 2012

The juveniles look like this:

M0L090Q060007QCRKQR0XQL090K00QURM01RM0YQZQAR70BR70AR3KUR40UR80VRRQVRLQVRI09R.jpg

T_Yamamoto · Jul 12, 2012

BoomerD said:

this

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Insect ID: HUGE black grasshopper with small yellow spots

Ichinisan

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