Offspring

nikv(73)
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7y

lobosceliana.jpg

Last year, I had a large adult female Stone Grasshopper (Genus: Lobosceliana) pottering around under the tree in my backyard for a few months and I see she left me a present. Large as he is, this is still a nymph

lobosceliana3.jpg

I say he because the females are wingless and this nymph's wings are still developing, he may be on his final instar stage. Grasshoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis because they do not pupate, only shed their skins a few times until they reach adulthood and each size phase is called an instar.

lobosceliana2.jpg
Crouching down because the camera makes him nervous. The large shield-shaped thorax is called a pronotum

Here's a picture I took of the adult female last year, showing off the adult colouration and excellent camouflage

lobosceliana4.jpg

Offspring | Ecency