Gray Bird Grasshopper—Juvenile stage

Watering the Monstera plant on the patio, I recently spotted this creature. I submitted pictures to iNaturalist and learned that this is a Gray Bird member of the grasshopper family.

According to iNaturalist, it is native to “southern North America including Mexico and the southwestern United States from California to Texas.”  Known as a vagrant grasshopper or a Gray Bird Grasshopper, it was camped out on the roots of the plant, its appendages holding it in place. For a sense of its size, see the tiny oxalis/wood sorrel heart-shaped leaves behind the plant stem.

Given the time of year, it seemed odd to have a nymph emerging now. But to give credit where it is due, this grasshopper was smart to stay on plant with large green leaves. Its diet consists of aphids and mites. Perhaps there are enough of them on the patio plants to feed a young grasshopper.  Despite its tiny stature, this nymph has the wisdom to benefit from the leafy green color as a camouflage against predators.

This insect didn’t move much or appear to increase its size, and after a few days it vanished. Was it eaten? Did it hop away or shed its exoskeleton so that it turned from spring green into tones of brown and sand? Or is it hiding elsewhere on the plant, invisible to my untrained eye?

Check out the serrated rear legs.