A few weeks ago I wrote about finding a bunch of really cool looking black, yellow, and red grasshoppers around my passion fruit vines. There were quite a few of them all together at that time, but it didn’t take long before they dispersed out over the area. Since then I’ve seen individuals several times in several places, including outside my gate, inside the dog house, and out at Henry Beck Park (I had wanted to photograph them there, but was out of battery).

Yesterday when I came home, my next door neighbors had mowed their grass, including the grass around my mail box (something they do routinely, and it’s greatly appreciated!). When I went to get the mail there was one long, tough stalk of a weed that had managed to remain uncut, and attached to it was an Eastern lubber grasshopper. It was probably double the size that the little first instars were, and the red color had faded away, but I don’t know of another grasshopper around here that is black with a yellow dorsal stripe.

It was actually sort of comical because the poor guy was trying desperately to hide behind the single plant stem. Even when they were little these guys couldn’t have hidden there, but this one didn’t have a chance! I took a couple shots of him in that position and tried to move around to another angle, but every time I did, he moved to the opposite side of the stem. I really think he thought he was hidden (if a grasshopper can think)! It took a little doing to get a couple other views, and I didn’t want to pester him too much. When I left, he was still hanging on to that one long plant stalk, still thinking he was hidden, I guess!