Bugland: Prairie Rainbow
The Rainbow Grasshopper is small and gorgeous, mainly black with distinctive yellow and red markings (though the red can’t be seen in this image). The species is also known as the Rainbow Grasshopper, Painted Grasshopper, Barber Pole Grasshopper, and in Latin, Dactylotum bicolor. Rainbow Grasshoppers are native to the United States, Canada and northern Mexico. Their colors are stunning to humans, but to birds and other predators are a warning to stay away. This Rainbow Grasshopper was photographed at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal by Park Hill photographer Mark Silverstein.