EENY-006 Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera (Beauvois) (=guttata (Houttuyn)) (Insecta: Orthoptera: Acrididae) 1 C. W. Scherer and J. L. Capinera 2 1. This document is EENY-006 (IN132), one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: October 1996. Revised May 2013. This document is also available as a Featured Creature at http://entomology.ifas.ul.edu/creatures. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis. ifas.ul.edu. 2. C. W. Scherer, graduate assistant, and J. L. Capinera, professor/department chairman, Entomology and Nematology Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or ailiations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A&M University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place , Dean Introduction Periodically, grasshoppers have been of economic impor- tance in Florida. A few species may occur in large enough numbers to cause serious damage to citrus, vegetable crops and landscape ornamentals. One of the species most commonly causing damage is the eastern lubber grasshop- per, Romalea microptera (Beauvois), also known as Romalea guttata (Houttuyn). Distribution he eastern lubber grasshopper is limited to the south- eastern and south central portion of the United States. he northern boundary is central North Carolina west through southern Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, to Texas. It occurs throughout Florida. Description he eastern lubber is surely the most distinctive grasshop- per species in the southeastern United States. It is well known both for its size and its unique coloration. he wings ofer little help with mobility for they are rarely more than half the length of the abdomen. his species is incapable of light and can jump only short distances.he eastern lubber is quite clumsy and slow in movement and mostly travels by walking and crawling feebly over the substrate. he “lub- ber” designation is interesting because it aptly describes this grasshopper. “Lubber” is derived from an old English word “lobre” which means lazy or clumsy. his 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 is one of only four species in the family Romaleidae found north of Mexico, but there are many other species in South America, and many are winged and agile, so although some Figure 1. Distribution of Romalea microptera, the eastern lubber grasshopper.