Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Grasshoppers and crickets
Sticker of Clipped-winged grasshopper
Bug card No. 0921 of 4,939

Clipped-winged grasshopper

Metaleptea brevicornis
Eats: PlantsGrasshoppers and cricketsPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The clipped-winged grasshopper is a grasshopper from North America. It likes wet, marshy places full of tall plants. Like all grasshoppers, it has long, strong back legs for jumping.

Lives in
Eastern North America, from the Great Lakes to Florida and Mexico, in wetlands
Top speed
about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting people.
What does it eat?
Like other grasshoppers, it munches on plants.
For real!Photo of Clipped-winged grasshopper
Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It was first described by the famous scientist Carl Linnaeus in 1763, under a different name.

2

It lives in wetlands, like marshes and wet meadows.

3

For a long time it was the only member of its little group of grasshoppers.

you asked

Most asked questions about Clipped-winged grasshopper

?Where does the clipped-winged grasshopper live?

In wetlands in eastern North America, from the Great Lakes down to Florida and Mexico.

?Is the clipped-winged grasshopper dangerous?

No. It is a harmless grasshopper that eats plants.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Metaleptea brevicornis
Named by
Linnaeus, 1763
Group
Grasshoppers and crickets
Family
Acrididae
Classification
Insecta > Orthoptera > Acrididae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Clipped-wing grasshopper

Where the facts come from

  1. Metaleptea brevicornis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Grasshoppers and crickets

Desert locustGrasshoppers and cricketsHouse cricketGrasshoppers and cricketsParktown prawnGrasshoppers and cricketsEastern lubber grasshopperGrasshoppers and cricketsAustralian plague locustGrasshoppers and cricketsMormon cricketGrasshoppers and crickets

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

Orange-spotted emeraldDragonflies and damselfliesTrivittate marsh flyFlies and mosquitoesFawn darnerDragonflies and damselfliesShy cosmet mothMothsBogota giant fishing spiderSpidersSlender amber snailSnails, slugs and worms
Honey jarfor grown-ups