Grasshopper and Spines

A grasshopper perches on a spiny plant.

Spotted this guy striking an artistic pose on a spiny plant at an Argentinian field site and had to snap a photo.

A male lubber grasshopper (family Romaleidae) of genus Staleochlora. More on these guys next week!

Your insect vocab of the day is ‘arolium.’  This is the pad visible between the two claws at the end of the front leg.  This structure acts as a suction pad, producing a sticky secretion that enables the insect to climb smooth surfaces.  Not all insects (or even all grasshoppers) have this structure.