I mobile-blogged a slightly cloudy version of this photo a couple of weeks ago. My niece and I encountered this lubber grasshopper while on line to see the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’ve done a little research and found out some FUNky facts about lubber grasshoppers.
1) RANGE: You might have seen one of these critters while vacationing at Walt Disney World or elsewhere in Florida. In fact, the range of this extraordinary creature, so lobster-like in appearance, extends across the southeastern United states from North Carolina to Texas.
2) GROUNDED: Even though lubber grasshoppers have wings, they cannot fly. To get around, they jump or crawl. This one was crawling rather pathetically up and down the cigarette butt receptacle outside the movie theater. It felt around before taking a step, so much so that I thought lubber grasshoppers might be blind. However, I’ve found no evidence suggesting sight issues, so I guess maybe they are just very careful crawlers.
3) COSTUME CHANGES: Lubber grasshoppers go through several colorful stages; this lobster color is representative of an adult in a light colored phase. Other phases can include stripes, green, yellow and deep navy blue. They don’t just turn colors; they molt! Man, I wish I could find the shell of one that has molted. It would be cool to have because it would look pretty without actually being a creepy-crawly critter 
4) REPRODUCTION: Females lay their eggs in the summer time; the eggs hatch in the southern part of Florida in February, but wait until March over the rest of the lubber’s range.
5) MISCHIEF: The lubber has been known to cause significant damage to vegetable and citrus crops. The best way to control lubbers is to remove their habitat – they like dense vegetation in moist areas, so if swales and roadsides are kept clear of vegetation, the lubbers will move on to denser pastures and not migrate over to chow down on your orange trees.
More information: eastern lubber grasshopper – Romalea guttata (Houttuyn).
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The best way to control them is with a shovel crashing down on their body!Or cut their head off with the garden clippers!
Just one of those things can destroy a plant in a matter of hours!
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Hi Tink, great post and wonderful photo of this lubber grasshopper. I took a photo of a grasshopper down in the Everglades years ago. It was an extraordinary looking thing and was similar to this but was much darker. By your description of all the color changes I am wondering if it was a lubber grasshopper. Thanks for all the great info.
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I didn’t thought this was a real one. Very nice colour!
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He looks like a Disney character! I enjoyed meeting him and getting to know him a little better!
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Beautiful shot, and interesting facts about this grasshopper. We have a bumper crop this year, but ours fly quite well. They also like the dense foliage.
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WOW! That is fabulous! That little one almost looks like a vinyl toy.
Wonderful shot
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I have to agree that he looks like a Disney character! What color! But what a pest! Stay away from my plants!
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Well, that’s one funky grasshopper! I doubt I’d see anything like that queuing up at my local cinema!
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That’s a beautiful grasshopper. I never saw one while in FL…. too bad.
CC – Llama Drama
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big big guy sandy
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It looks big, how big was it, I don’t think I would want to meet up with this creature. Grass hoppers around here are usually only and inch. Cool Facts…Creepy Picture…Thanks for Sharing
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Those are facts I definitely didn’t know!
Very interesting.
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This fella has the look like art deco. Very interesting specimen. Great shot.
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[...] My Top 5 FUNky facts about the eastern lubber grasshopper [...]
Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper…
I found your entry interesting thus I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog
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If you want to admire them more closely w/out it being “creepy crawly” simply but it in a medicine bottle slightly bigger than the grasshopper and fill it up with alcohol, or the other way around. Leave it for about a week, then take it out, pin it to a piece of cardboard and adjust the legs and antenna so it looks natural(you can even spread the wings and hold them in place with tooth picks or pins), then leave it in the sun until it dries completely. When it dries, it will harden and will stay that way for a long time.
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