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Spotted-winged Grasshopper (Orphulella pelidna), a Special Concern species, occurrs in the western half of Wisconsin and can be found primarily on grasses in sandy uplands associated with ephemeral pools, freshwater marsh, or river terraces. This species is also known from dry prairies, and pastures. The spotted-winged grasshopper is a grass feeder and is active from July to early September.
The table below provides information about the protected status - both state and federal - and the rank (S and G Ranks) for Spotted-winged Grasshopper (Orphulella pelidna). See the Working List Key for more information about abbreviations. Counties shaded blue have documented occurrences for this species in the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory database. The map is provided as a general reference of where occurrences of this species meet NHI data standards and is not meant as a comprehensive map of all observations.
Note: Species recently added to the NHI Working List may temporarily have blank occurrence maps.
| Summary Information | |
|---|---|
| State Status | SC/N |
| Federal Status in Wisconsin | none |
| State Rank | S2S3 |
| Global Rank | G5 |
| Tracked by NHI | Y |
| WWAP | SGCN |
Identification: Small to medium pale grasshopper. Body color green or brown. Head with an obvious slant. Lateral pronotal carinae cut by two or three sulci. Wings extend beyond hind femora.
Similar Species: Orphulella speciosa is common. Lateral pronotal carinae cut only by one sulcus.
Habitat: Variable, dry prairie, old field, sandy uplands associated with wet areas. A species of Atlantic coastal marshes. Rangewide found in herbaceous wetland, riparian, woodland-mixed, grassland/herbaceous, and suburban/orchard.
State Distribution: Western half of state.
Global Distribution: Atlantic Coastal Plain to southern California with scattered sites in western river valleys and the northern Midwest.
Phenology: Adults in July and August.
No additional photos are available for Spotted-winged Grasshopper at this time. Please consider donating a photo to the Natural Heritage Conservation program.
The table below lists the natural communities that are associated with Spotted-winged Grasshopper. Only natural communities for which Spotted-winged Grasshopper is "high" (score=3) or "moderate" (score=2) associated are shown. See the key to association scores for complete definitions. Please see the Wildlife Action Plan to learn how this information was developed.
| Natural community | Score |
|---|---|
| Dry Prairie | 3 |
| Bog Relict | 2 |
| Calcareous Fen | 2 |
| Dry-mesic Prairie | 2 |
| Ephemeral Pond | 2 |
| Great Lakes Coastal Fen | 2 |
| Northern Sedge Meadow | 2 |
| Open Bog | 2 |
| Southern Sedge Meadow | 2 |
The table below lists the ecological landscape association scores for Spotted-winged Grasshopper. The scores correspond to the map (3=High, 2=Moderate, 1=Low, 0=None). For more information, please see the Wildlife Action Plan.
Ecological priorities are the combinations of natural communities and ecological landscapes that provide Wisconsin's best opportunities to conserve important habitats for a given Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The 10 highest scoring combinations are considered ecological priorities and are listed below. More than 10 combinations are listed if multiple combinations tied for 10th place. For more information, please see the Wildlife Action Plan.
* Ecological priority score is a relative measure that is not meant for comparison between species. This score does not consider socio-economical factors that may dictate protection and/or management priorities differently than those determined solely by ecological analysis. Further, a low ecological priority score does not imply that management or preservation should not occur on a site if there are important reasons for doing so locally.
Conservation actions respond to issues or threats, which adversely affect species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) or their habitats. Besides actions such as restoring wetlands or planting resilient tree species in northern communities, research, surveys and monitoring are also among conservation actions described in the WWAP because lack of information can threaten our ability to successfully preserve and care for natural resources.