Red-legged Grasshopper
Melanoplus femurrubrum
Red-legged Grasshopper · Upstate New York · 17 August 2025
A mating pair of Red-legged Grasshoppers in an Upstate New York meadow in August, the smaller male riding the female's back. It is one of the most common grasshoppers in North America, in meadows, roadsides and fields across the whole continent, and a genuine agricultural pest in large numbers, though a single pair in a meadow is no cause for concern.
The male can hold this position for hours after mating has finished, apparently to keep other males away from her. The red on the hind legs is the name and the mark.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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