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Red-Legged Grasshopper

Melanoplus femurrubrum[4]

The red-legged grasshopper is a common, inch-long grasshopper with red hind legs that feeds on many garden plants and weeds.[1][2][3]

Group
Insect
Order
Orthoptera
Family
Acrididae
US records
45 states
Sources
4 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Red-legged grasshopper showing red hind legs on a rock
Red-legged grasshopper showing red hind legs on a rock. (c) Evan M. Raskin, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Adults reach about 1 inch; color varies from red-brown and yellow to dark brown or olive green, with yellow undersides.[1][3]
  • The hind legs are bright red or yellowish with a black herringbone pattern.[1][3]
  • It has a small spur between the bases of the front legs, like other spur-throated grasshoppers.[3]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Differential grasshopperYellowish to olive green with black chevrons on the hind leg rather than red legs.[1]
Other Melanoplus grasshoppersNearly 250 close relatives look very similar and may need an expert to identify.[3]

Where it lives

Found throughout most of North America, especially in sunny, moist, low grassy and weedy sites, yards, roadsides and field borders.[2][3]

US map: public records from 45 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Females lay several egg pods in soil, each with up to about 20 eggs; the eggs overwinter and hatch in spring.[2][3]

It is one of the later-hatching grasshoppers, and nymphs reach adult size by August or early September.[2][3]

When food is scarce, as in drought, it develops longer wings and disperses.[3]

Damage and signs

  • Adults and nymphs eat grasses and many broadleaf plants, preferring legumes and composites, and it feeds on many garden plants.[2][3]
  • It is often considered a crop pest.[3]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][3]

Control

Biological control

Weather around egg hatch is the biggest natural control; blister beetles, robber flies, parasitic flies and birds also kill grasshoppers.[2]

Nosema locustae bait infects only young grasshoppers, acts slowly and fits a long-term program.[2]

Pesticides

Sprays or baits work best on young grasshoppers at egg-laying sites; once adults migrate in, treating plants often fails and repeat applications may be needed.[1][2]

Common questions

Why do grasshoppers keep coming back after I spray?
Grasshoppers are highly mobile and move in from nearby areas, so repeat treatments may be needed.[1][2]
When is the best time to control grasshoppers?
While they are young nymphs near egg-laying sites, before adults migrate.[2]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Grasshoppers on Ornamental Plants (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/grasshoppers-on-ornamental-plants (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. Colorado State University Extension, “Grasshopper Control in Gardens and Small Acreages (Fact Sheet 5.536).” extension.colostate.edu/resource/grasshopper-control-in-gardens-and-small-acreages/ (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. Missouri Department of Conservation, “Red-Legged Grasshopper (Field Guide).” mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/red-legged-grasshopper (accessed 2026-10-16)
  4. iNaturalist, “Melanoplus femurrubrum taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/129094 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.