Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- Southeastern lubber
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Orthoptera
- Family
- Romaleidae
- Genus Species
- Romalea microptera
Fast Facts
- Description
- Colorful with varying patterns. Mostly yellow with black markings on distal portion of antennae, pronotum and abdominal segments. Forewings are pinkish; hind wings rose colored. Forewings extend 2/3 to 3/4 of abdomen; hind wings short and not used for flight. Black form of this species is found in northern Florida region of distribution.
- Size
- Up to maximum of 90 mm (3.54 in.)
Males: 43 to 45 mm (1.69 to 1.77 in.)
Females: 50 to 70 mm (1.97 to 2.75 in.)
- Weight
- No data
- Diet
- At least 100 species from 38 plant families
- Gestation
- 6 to 8 month gestation
- Clutch Size
- 30 to 50 eggs in 3 to 5 clusters called pods
- Eggs
- Measure 9.5 mm (0.37 in.) in length, 2.5 mm (0.10 in.) in width
- Nymphs
- Almost completely black with yellow, orange, or red dorsal stripe
- Life Span
- Long-lived; found throughout most of the year from March to November
- Range
- Limited to southeastern United States from North Carolina to Florida and west through central Texas
- Habitat
- low, wet areas in pastures, woods, and ditches
- Population
- Global: Unknown
- Status
- IUCN: Not listed
CITES: Not listed
USFWS:Not listed
Fun Facts
Over 23,000 species of grasshoppers live around the world. Southeastern lubbers are found in gardens and fields in the southeastern United States, where they feed on plants. Although farmers consider them pests, these insects are an important food source for other animals, and their feeding stimulates growth in many grasses. Lubbers produce sounds by rubbing their wings together or by blowing air out of their breathing tubes. The sounds are used by males to establish territories or attract females. Members of this species have eardrums on their abdomens
Because of its large size, this grasshopper species is not able to fly or hop well, instead it is most frequently observed walking and frequently climbing
Lubbers have few predators due to the toxic secretions that cause gagging and regurgitation. The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) catches and impales this grasshopper on thorns and barbed wire fence, leaving them there for 1 to 2 days while the toxin degrades and the grasshopper becomes edible.
Ecology and Conservation
This species can be found in numbers large enough to cause serious damage to citrus, vegetable crops and landscape ornamentals.
Bibliography
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/lubber.htm
