Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Romaleidae
Genus: Chromacris
Species: C. speciosa
Binomial name: Chromacris speciosa (Thunberg, 1824)
General: The grasshopper-soldier (Chromacris speciosa) is a grasshopper widely distributed in Brazil. The adults of these insects have green and yellow coloration, and the nymphs are black with red welt.
The Chromacris speciosa is also known in Brazil as “gafanhoto-soldado”, soldier-grasshopper, and it also has the nickname “brasileirinho”, little brazilian boy, because of it’s colors. It the nation’s colors!
The brasileirinho is in the Romaleida family, and the interesting thing is that they begin life looking very different. When they are nymphs, they are black with bright red stripes, which is also a very interesting combination to look at. The reason why they have the bright red markings when they are little is to keep predators away.
