AboutEric R. Eaton Expertise I can answer most questions related to wasps, solitary bees, grasshoppers and katydids, beetles, cicadas, and spiders, and identification of "mystery bugs" in North America. No "what bit me?" or "what do I feed this bug in captivity?" questions please.
Experience Principal author, Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Professional entomologist employed previously at University of Massachusetts, Chase Studio, Inc., and Cincinnati Zoo; contract work for West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, Smithsonian Institution, and Portland (Oregon) State University.
Organizations Entomological Society of America, National Association of Science Writers
Publications Author, Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Missouri Conservationist magazine, Ranger Rick, Timeline (journal of the Ohio Historical Society). I have contributed to several books as well.
Education/Credentials Oregon State University, undergraduate major in entomology, did not receive degree.
Past/Present Clients Principal author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Smithsonian Institution (contract), Cincinnati Zoo (employer), Portland State University (contract), Chase Studio, Inc (employer), Arkansas Museum of Discovery (guest speaker). Currently seeking employment in a highly creative work environment with a media corporation or non-profit.
Question i found a black and orange grass hopper on sunday june 6 2009 in jumps i wanted to know if it is harmful?
Answer John:
You don't give me much to go on here. You don't even state where on the planet you found this insect.....
If it was somewhere in the southeast United States, then you are most likely describing the nymph of a eastern lubber grasshopper, Romalea microptera. If in the southWEST U.S., then the nymph of a "horse lubber," Taeniopoda eques. No, they are generally not abundant enough to do significant damage to plants. The bright colors indicate they might be poisonous to eat, but otherwise these grasshoppers are nothing more than a curiosity.
