Whether they be green, brown, or black. Whether they be tiny or huge (relatively). Whether they fly or just hop. Whether they are very much alive or smashed on your windshield. It is a time of grasshoppers and they are everywhere.
Strangely, the fact that there are so many does not make it easier to identify any one individual to species. Turns out there are a number of grasshopper species in this area, that each instar stage can look different, very different, from its predecessor or what comes next, and there are significant regional and individual differences to contend with. Great fun. Well….
On a recent outing to Andrews (north of Animas Peak, by Copper Flat) hiking companions noted the jewels flying through the sky. The wings of grasshoppers can glimmer in a variety of colors as they plow through the air, greens, turquoise-blue, yellows, and reds seem to predominate but some are more subtle.
I suspect that the individual shown above is Schistocerca albolineata, White-lined Bird Grasshopper. It looks a lot like S. obscura, the Obscure Bird Grasshopper, but note the red hind tibiae.
In describing this species, BugGuide notes that it is "Similar to S. lineata and venusta, but more contrastingly marked, with bold dark bars on the hind femora. This species is dark olive green or brown to black, with contrasting pale yellowish markings, and bold contrasting markings on the hind femora, with the hind tibiae red to black.
Occasionally individuals are green with fewer pale contrasting markings, but still have bold contrasting black markings on the hind femur. These closely resemble eastern S. obscura, but usually have red hind tibiae. Their appearance raises interesting questions about possible hybridization, and they are often misidentified.”
Although the taxonomic boxes have been, more-or-less, sorted at this point which individuals belong in which boxes is still unclear at times.
Other photographs of the individual shown above may be seen at this page.