Apache Cicada vs Rainbow Grasshopper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Apache Cicada Rainbow Grasshopper
Scientific Name Diceroprocta apache Dactylotum variegatum
Order Hemiptera Orthoptera
Family Cicadidae Acrididae
Size 30-40 mm 20-30mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Deserts & Drylands
Diet Root Feeders Herbivores
Regions North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Apache Cicada

A large green and brown cicada that sings loudly in the Sonoran Desert heat. Nymphs spend years underground feeding on root sap of desert trees.

💡

Did You Know?

It can sing at temperatures exceeding 46 degrees Celsius by using evaporative cooling through its body.

Rainbow Grasshopper

A small short-winged grasshopper brightly patterned in red, orange, blue, and black. Despite its vivid warning colors, it is not actually toxic. It is slow-moving and easy to observe.

💡

Did You Know?

Its striking rainbow coloring is a bluff; it has no toxins but mimics the appearance of genuinely poisonous insects.