Arphia ramona, the California orange-winged grasshopper, is a species of band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae, often called the short-horned grasshopper. The short-horned grasshopper is known to be agriculturally harmful to crops as their diet consists of leaves, flowers, and seeds. It is found in Central America and North America.[1][2][3][4] In California, it is found from the Coast Ranges to Mt. Diablo. Its hind wings are orange, and its body is long, slender, or can be short, and stout.[5] The California orange-winged grasshopper can be 23mm to 31mm in size for males, while the females range from 30mm to 41mm.[6] Grasshoppers begin to appear in late winter and early spring.[6] The California orange-winged grasshopper is known for making a cracking noise while flying by rubbing its front wings together.[7] The noise produced during flight by male and some female band-wing grasshoppers is associated with mating.[8] When they are in flight, you can see their colorful hind wings, usually orange, hidden behind their front wings while still.[8] They are commonly found in a sunny, open patch of soil, blending in with their surrounding environment due to their camouflage coloring.[9] Female grasshoppers reproduce 100 eggs in the soil, which will continue the life cycle of different stages of molts.[9]
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Otte, Daniel; Cigliano, Maria Marta; Braun, Holger; Eades, David C. (2019). "species Arphia ramona Rehn, 1902". Orthoptera species file online, Version 5.0. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
