Class: Hexapoda (animals with six legs - includes all insects)
Order: Orthoptera (grasshoppers, katydids and crickets)
ortho = straight and ptera = wings
Family: Acrididae (short-horned grasshoppers)
Species: Dactylotum bicolor
Common Name: Pictured Grasshopper
The species / subspecies and common name selected depend on the reference used.
Rainbow Grasshopper, which I personally like better, is one of the alternate common names.
Date: 2001 June 21
Place: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
El Capitan Trail
These colorful grasshoppers never develop large wings. Presumably, the prominent warning colors tell predators that these grasshoppers do not taste good. I found this species around the Visitor Center and on several other trails over the summer.
Links
Note: This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Contact information for the author, Ron Lyons, is accessible through the Index Page referenced below. Thank you.