[5] The Carolina Locust[6] is a short-horned grasshopper (Family Acrididae) found in most of the United States and other parts of North America[7] (Fig 1).

[4] They tend to be conspicuous due to their size, colorful wings, and because they habitually fly over dirt roads and other bare ground.

The tegmina are light brown to tan to gray, tending towards camouflage with the dirt where they bask or hide, whereas the inner wings used for flight are brownish-black with yellow margins and a ridge running down the back.

[5] When taking off to escape predators, the black-and-yellow hindwings are revealed extremely quickly, causing the visible portion of the grasshopper to shift from camouflage (~100% brown) to contrast (50+% black-and-yellow) and roughly double in size in less than 9 ms; when landing, the reverse transition occurs in less than 15 ms. Due to these rapid transitions, human observers may see the grasshopper as appearing and disappearing instantaneously.

[11] Because of their large size and rather lazy bobbing flight, they are often mistaken for a butterfly,[4] especially the mourning cloak Nymphalis antiopa.

As oviposition occurs in late summer it is probable that the development of the nymph in the egg take place during the following spring.

[5] The nymphs emerge from the eggs over a period of at least two weeks to develop within a habitat of grass and weeds interspersed with patches of bare ground.

Once they acquire functional wings, they disperse extensively; adults may fly distances of several miles or more, as they have been found in the center of large cities.

[5] In the heat of the day, the male D. carolina take flight and hover, clicking their wings in a courtship display to attract females.

The male sits horizontally on sunlit bare ground and may continue to stridulate for 5 minutes or more until he is successful in attracting a female.

[5] The female selects compacted bare ground which is exposed to the sun in which to oviposit, often the edge of a gravel or dirt road.

As temperatures rise, they climb on to vegetation until they are 2.5–7.5 mm above the substrate and face into the sun so that only the front of the head is exposed to the rays and the rest of the body is in shade.

Disturbed areas reseeded with Bromus inermis may give rise to large populations of D. Carolina, which then fly to fields of autumn wheat where they can cause stand damage.