Luber On Leaf

The Eastern Lubber grasshoper is
native to the Southeastern and South-central United States. It is known commonly as the eastern lubber grasshopper, Florida After new research, tlubber, or Florida lubber grasshopper. It is the most distinctive grasshopper species within the Southeastern US, and is well known for its size and its unique coloration. It can reach nearly 3 inches in size.

It grows through several stages, like all insects. When in the nymph stage, it is smaller than in the adult stage, wingless, and completely black with one or more yellow, orange, or red stripes. In the adult stage, it reaches 3 in, grows wings half the length of its body, and become either a dull yellow often characterized by black spots and markings, a bright orange with black markings, or entirely black (as in the nymph stage) with yellow or red striping. In the black adult color phase, the grasshopper is widely known by the name "diablo" or "black diablo". In Louisiana, they are known as the "devil's horse" or cheval-diable. The insect is also colloquially known as a "graveyard grasshopper". In Mississippi, they are known as the "giant locust".
The eastern lubber is quite clumsy and slow in movement and mostly travels by walking and crawling feebly over the substrate. The “lubber” designation is interesting because it aptly describes this grasshopper. “Lubber” is derived from an old English word “lobre” which means lazy or clumsy. This term has come to mean a big, clumsy, and stupid person, also known as a lout or lummox. In modern times, it is normally used only by seafarers, who term novices “landlubbers”.
Eastern lubber grasshopper is surely the most distinctive grasshopper species found in the southeastern USA. Adults are colorful, but the color pattern varies. Often the adult eastern lubber is mostly yellow or tawny, with black on the distal portion of the antennae, on the pronotum, and on the abdominal segments. The forewings extend two-thirds to three-fourths the length of the abdomen. The hind wings are short and incapable of providing lift for flight. The forewings tend to be pink or rose in color centrally whereas the hind wings are entirely rose in color. Darker forms of this species also exist, wherein the yellow color becomes the minor rather than the major color component, and in northern Florida a predominantly black form is sometimes found. Not only is this large, heavy-bodied grasshopper unable to fly, but is poor at leaping as well, so mostly it is observed walking. However, it is a good climber, and often climbs trees to feed on juvenile foliage at the tips of branches.
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