Bug FAQBird Grasshopper
Schistocerca pallens · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Acrididae
Source: Wikipedia
Schistocerca pallens is a large grasshopper often called a “bird grasshopper.” It feeds on many cultivated plants and can cause economic loss when present in high numbers.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It is closely related to Schistocerca cancellata and shares many physical traits, yet it never shows swarming or phase change even when crowded.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are large for grasshoppers, earning the nickname “bird grasshopper.”
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
When populations become dense, the insects can cause noticeable damage to agricultural fields.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It feeds on a variety of crops such as sugar cane, almond, banana, beans, corn, rice, sorghum, sweet potato and tomatoes.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
More photos
Questions people ask
What crops does Schistocerca pallens damage?
It feeds on and can damage many crops, including sugar cane, almond, banana, beans, corn, rice, sorghum, sweet potato and tomatoes.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it swarm like other locusts?
No, even when crowded it does not show swarming behavior or phase polymorphism.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Acrididae)
Differential GrasshopperMelanoplus differentialisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Two-striped GrasshopperMelanoplus bivittatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Carolina GrasshopperDissosteira carolinaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Field GrasshopperChorthippus brunneus
Egyptian Bird GrasshopperAnacridium aegyptium
Gray Bird GrasshopperSchistocerca nitensDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistocerca_pallens
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.