United States Rangeland Management Community Portal

View U.S. Grasshopper Forecast Maps (Hazard Maps)

Rangeland grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are native to rangelands across 17 western U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. These insects are at home in grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, and other vegetated areas. However, when environmental conditions are favorable, their populations can surge to outbreak levels, which can cause significant economic and ecological harm. Grasshoppers compete with livestock by consuming the same forage, often depleting rangeland resources, especially during droughts. Large outbreaks can strip pastures of vegetation, reducing food availability for grazing animals and leading to soil erosion and rangeland degradation. This forces ranchers to buy supplemental feed, relocate herds, or sell livestock early, resulting in significant economic losses.

Large outbreaks of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets occur roughly every decade, though local populations fluctuate based on environmental conditions and other factors. Rangeland grasshoppers are ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs for leaping and, in many species, wings that enable long-distance flight. They are sometimes called short-horned grasshoppers to distinguish them from katydids, which have notably longer antennae.

Unlike grasshoppers, Mormon crickets are flightless katydids. However, they can travel vast distances by walking or jumping, often migrating in massive groups numbering in the millions or even billions. The Mormon cricket is the only katydid species in the U.S. known to form outbreak populations.

Visit the APHIS homepage for rangeland grasshopper and mormon cricket

Significant grasshopper species in the United States

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  Big-headed grasshopper (Aulocara elliotti)
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  Clear-winged grasshopper (Camnula pellucida)
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  Four-spotted grasshopper (Phlibostroma quadrimaculatum)
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  Kiowa grasshopper (Trachyrhachys kiowa)
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  Little spur-throated grasshopper (Melanoplus infantilis)
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  Migratory grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes)
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  Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex)
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  Obscure grasshopper (Opeia obscura)
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  Striped grasshopper (Amphitornus coloradus)
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  Two-striped grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus)
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  Western spotted-winged grasshopper (Cordillacris occipitalis)
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  White cross grasshopper (Aulocara femoratum)
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  White-whiskered grasshopper (Ageneotettix deorum)

Featured identification guides

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  Grasshoppers of the Western U.S.
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  Pest grasshoppers in Oregon
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  Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers: Species Fact Sheets
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  Grasshoppers (Acrididae) of Colorado- identification, biology and management
• The Grasshoppers of Nebraska
  The Grasshoppers of Nebraska

Identification resources in the United States

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