Chromacris speciosa, also known as the soldier grasshopper, is a grasshopper belonging to the family Romaleidae. It is distributed across Central America and South America. It was first described in 1824 by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg.
Taxonomy This species belongs to the family Romaleidae which belongs to the suborder Caelifera.Buzzetti & Carotti (2008) Annotated list of the Caelifera of Ecuador (Biodiversity of South America), Memoirs on Biodiversity 1 39-66 There are a few synonyms of Chromacris speciosa including Chromacris stolli, Rhomalea stolli, Acridium xanthopterum, and Gryllus speciosa.Roberts & Carbonell (1982) A revision of the grasshopper genera Chromacris and Xestrotrachelus (Orthoptera: Romaleidae, Romaleinae), Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 43(4):43-58
Both the lectotype and syntype of this species were collected in Amapá, Brazil.
Habitat It has general distribution across South America and Central America. They can be found in countries such as Ecuador (Andes), Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, eastern Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.Carbonell, Rowell, Bentos-Pereira & Porras (2007) Checklist of Orthoptera Caelifera from Colombia, Zootaxa 1594:39-59
It prefers bush environment with vegetation principally consisting of species in the families such as Solanaceae, Myrtaceae, and Gramineae.
Description It is a medium-size species with a generally dark green color and orange-red hind wings. Yellow strips can be seen across its body. Nymphs of this species are black and red.
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References
External links
Chromacris speciosa: Images & occurrence data from GBIF