Tropidacris cristata

Tropidacris cristata, the giant red-winged grasshopper, is a widespread species of lubber grasshopper in the family Romaleidae from tropical South and Central America, and Mexico.[1][2][3] It is among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in) and 24 cm (9.4 in) respectively.[4][5] More typical adult lengths are 5.5–7 cm (2.2–2.8 in), average 6.5 cm (2.6 in), in males and 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in), average 11 cm (4.3 in), in females.[6][7] As suggested by the common name, adult T. cristata have conspicuously red wings in flight, although the exact red hue varies.[6] The flightless and gregarious nymphs have aposematic dark-and-yellow stripes and are presumed to be toxic.[5][7]

Tropidacris cristata
Adult above, nymph below (both in Costa Rica)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Caelifera
Family:	Romaleidae
Subfamily:	Romaleinae
Tribe:	Tropidacrini
Genus:	Tropidacris
Species:	T. cristata
Binomial name
Tropidacris cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Tropidacris latreillei (Perty, 1832)

T. cristata occurs in a wide range of habitats, both in lowlands and highlands.[3][8] In the southern part of its distribution, it is largely restricted to humid and semi-humid forested regions, avoiding places that are open and dry, but in the northern part it also occurs in somewhat drier habitats.[3][8] It is generally quite common, although the blue-winged T. collaris often is more common where their ranges overlap in South America (only T. cristata is found in some parts of northwestern South America and in Central America).[4][8]

T. cristata feeds on many types of plants and occasionally it is regarded as a pest.[6][7][8] The lifecycle is annual with overlapping generations,[9] but in some regions there is a level of seasonality in the occurrence of adults and nymphs.[7] The female lays an egg sac that contains up to 100 eggs in the soil.[9]