Romalea (Lubber Grasshopper)

Grasshoppers are herbivorous insects of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish them from bush crickets or katydids, they are sometimes referred to as short-horned grasshoppers. Species that change colour and behaviour at high population densities are called locusts.

The eastern lubber grasshopper, Romalea guttata, is often used in teaching laboratories as the introduction to insect anatomy. Grasshoppers are relatively primitive, more or less typical insects. Romalea is a large insect, with females (which are larger than males) reaching 75 mm in length and is easily dissected. It is a good example of general, relatively unspecialized insect anatomy.