Pallid-Winged Grasshopper vs Grain Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pallid-Winged Grasshopper Grain Thrips
Scientific Name Trimerotropis pallidipennis Limothrips cerealium
Order Orthoptera Thysanoptera
Family Acrididae Thripidae
Size 24-40 mm 1.2-1.8 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America Europe, Asia, North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pallid-Winged Grasshopper

A well-camouflaged band-winged grasshopper with pale translucent hindwings. It is one of the most common grasshoppers in arid western North America.

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Did You Know?

This grasshopper is so perfectly camouflaged against sandy ground that it is virtually invisible until it takes flight, flashing its pale wings.

Grain Thrips

A widespread pest of cereal crops including wheat, barley, and oats. Adults are dark brown and migrate in swarms during warm summer days.

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Did You Know?

On hot summer days, grain thrips swarm in enormous numbers and are colloquially known as "thunder bugs" because they seem to appear before storms.