Orthoptera of North Carolina
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View Acrididae Members: NC Records

Orphulella speciosa (Scudder, 1862) - Slant-faced Pasture Grasshopper

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Taxonomy
Family: Acrididae Subfamily: Gomphocerinae Tribe: Orphulellini
Comments: One of two species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Cigliano et al., 208), both of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Capinera et al. (2004)Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images,  iNaturalist, GBIFTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Blatchley (1920); Otte (1981)                                                                                  
Comments: A small, slant-faced, long-winged grasshopper. The coloration and pattern are highly variable, ranging from green to brown, often with a pale oblique line on on the lateral lobes of the pronotum; the tegmina can be purplish-red in some individuals. The lateral carinae of the pronotum are white and constricted in the middle. The sections of the carinae on the metazona are bordered inwardly by a black triangle but not on the prozona, unlike the pattern in Eritettix simplex, which has black triangles or bands along both sections. Orphulella pelidna is similar but differs in structural features (see below).
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 14-21 mm (vertex to ends of hind femora), males; 18-27 mm, females (Otte, 1981)
Structural Features: Distinguished from Orphulella pelidna by possessing only a single sulcus cutting across the lateral carinae. The tegmina also usually do not surpass the ends of the hind femora, whereas they extend past the femora in pelidna. Eritettix simplex is also similar in size and coloration and also in its possession of relatively short wings and a single sulcus crossing the lateral carinae. Eritettix, however, has black triangles or broader bands on the inner sides of the lateral carinae on both the prozona and metazona; it also has raised ridges on its head that are missing in Orphulella.
Singing Behavior: Reported to crepitate by Otte (1970) but stridulation has apparently not been observed
Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Adult Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Inhabits dry, short-grass habitats, such as upland pastures and semi-waste fields (Otte, 1981).
Diet: A generalist feeder on grasses (Brust et al., 2014)
Observation Methods: Best found by walking through its habitat and flushing individuals into making short jumps
Abundance/Frequency: Not enough information is available to estimate its frequency of occurrence or abundance in North Carolina
Adult Phenology: Insufficient information exists in North Carolina to determine its flight period
See also Habitat Account for Grassy Balds and Montane Semi-natural Grasslands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: ->[W3]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 [SH]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments: Apparently known from specimens collected by Morse (1904) from a single, high elevation site in the Mountains. Morse described it as occurring sparingly both at that site and at a location in the mountains of Virginia. The habitats of this primarily northern and western species do not appear to be limiting, however, so it is unclear whether this species is truly rare within North Carolina or just undersampled.