Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Hey there fella… what’s your name?  You have big hind legs… shall I call you “Jumper?”  

“No,” the critter replies…  “Those days are over for me.  Oh to be a nymph again!”

Well how about “Chomper?”  You appetite for greenery is doing a number on my lily plants.

“Sorry ‘bout that… a grasshoppers’ gotta do what a grasshoppers’ gotta do to survive.”

Okay… well move along and we’ll see you next year.

Lubber nymphs are usually very lethargic and easily handpicked. Their black coloration makes them look like a different species than the adult stage.

These beautiful colorful creatures usually show up in my garden in the Spring.  Their population is small so I tolerate them; for the sake of a few chewed leaves, we can easily coexist.

Lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera) are native to Florida and the Southeastern U.S. including North and South Carolina, Georgia, and west through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, to central Texas.  

Adult Lubber grasshoppers are primarily yellow with orange and red markings.  The juvenile nymph (immature) grasshoppers look totally different than the adults, and are almost completely black with a red stripe.  Adults attain a large size, males measuring 1-1/2” - 2” inches length and females often measuring 2” - 3-1/2” inches.

These grasshoppers were exterminated while doing their thing in a natural park area. Why?

Lubber is derived from an old English word which means lazy or clumsy. Juveniles are more nimble and will jump away if approached. The adult grasshopper is a very poor jumper, and is usually seen walking, or climbing to feed on foliage at the tips of branches.  They have wings, but cannot fly.  Since the adults basically sit on the leaf, even when approached, it is easy to lift them off the plant by pinching their two hind legs between your thumb and index finger.  You can then relocate the critter to a place where it can do no further damage to your plants.

Unfortunately for the Lubber grasshopper, most people’s first reaction when they see one is of terror.  Jurassic monster!!!  Dinosaur war!!! Exterminate it!!!  

Portrait of an adult Lubber Grasshopper. Photo by Linda Adams

Closeup view of the Adult Lubber Grasshopper head

I can understand that grasshoppers are disliked by farmers because huge swarms can wipe out a farmer’s crop.  Farmers care more about feeding people than insects, so In this case it may be appropriate for the farmer to use chemicals to prevent crop loss and economic hardship.

Grasshoppers have few natural enemies.  Their bright colorful pattern is believed to be a warning to predators that they are not palatable.

In the home landscape grasshoppers can be seen early in the morning and in late afternoon feeding in flower beds, defoliating amaryllis, crinum and other lilies, oleander, butterfly weed, canna, Mexican petunia and lantana. Their veggie garden preference includes lettuce, kale, peas, beans and cabbage.  So I get it!  So how can we be humane while dealing with these critters in trying to salvage your home garden?  You can hand pick and relocate.  Another more final solution is handpicking and placing in a bag to be then placed in the freezer. 

Caught in the act of chomping on lily foliage

In general, these critters do not kill plants.  What they chew on will return.  For example, at a local nature park I frequent, I was shocked to see dozens of dead adult Lubber grasshoppers lying in the flower beds.  This is a native, natural garden.  It is non-manicured.  So what harm is there to co-existing with a few grasshoppers?  They are amazingly beautiful.

How could anyone kill such a beautiful species? 

Pay attention young grasshopper.  Act with knowledge and compassion.  Though man is the king of the jungle and can do what he pleases, carefully consider the fate of the grasshopper in the home and natural landscape.

There is a reason for the grasshoppers’ existence, otherwise would it have been created?