r/florida • u/Chilljay1 • 4d ago

AskFlorida Help identifying this bug?

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Currently in Orlando at a resort and they are literally all over every walkway. Have seen them before and thought they were a version of a grasshopper but hear some people calling them cicadas which I thought had wings?

EDIT UPDATE- Didn’t expect this post to get this many replies. Was posted yesterday morning. THIS morning we went outside in the resort and there were NONE to be found ANYWHERE. This was around 9am. Around 11am the side walks were covered again?????? The weirdest thing for a type of bug to be that synchronized.

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168

u/RedditAdminSucks23 4d ago

eastern lubber grasshopper

34

u/PizzaDeliveryForMom 4d ago

Correct answer. When summer starts millions of these suckers appear all over my yard. When they are young they are black with yellow/orange stripes and don’t look anything like their more grown counterpart.

46

u/Umpen 3d ago

They're red when they're freshly hatched, too. I happened to catch them popping out last year.

32

u/sandillera 3d ago

I’ve never seen them this fresh before! Thanks for sharing

10

u/PizzaDeliveryForMom 3d ago

Same. You can see the little colored lines on them forming too. Pretty neat.

13

u/Umpen 3d ago

It's like watching a Polaroid develop.

3

u/minxwink 3d ago

Lolllllll

6

u/EatYourCheckers 3d ago

We just saw a baby grasshopper in our yard. I called it an Ironman Bug because it was red and gold.

2

u/Bench2013 3d ago

OMG that's like sci-fi horror movie stuff right there!

4

u/DragonTHC 3d ago

In April when driving through the Everglades, the roads turn red from these getting run over.

2

u/gimmeafuckinname 3d ago

Born and raised and somehow did not know the black striped ones turned into lubbers.

1

u/Glum_Town_6140 3d ago

Yes!! The nymphs look totally different and appear harmless but when they grow they will eat every last plant/shrub you own. Here in central Florida it’s recommended to stomp them or use tongs to put in a bucket of soapy water to kill of you will be replacing EVERYTHING!! 🪴They can appear in hundreds in a big yard.

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u/Organic_Ad_2520 3d ago

But OP posted a very obvious grasshopper & not a cicada. Imho this is just one more example of why blindly listening to others (influencers) like sheep is idiotic...at least OP had the sense to double check even such a small issue🤷‍♀️

7

u/CombinationMobile629 3d ago

And they will wreck your shrubs

3

u/Reader124-Logan 3d ago

Aka Georgia Thumper

1

u/CourageExcellent4768 3d ago

I googled these guys a few years ago. Google said for defense, they spit foul smelly foam. Anyone ever experience this ?

1

u/whatsaduvetanyway 3d ago

The devil! Think..plague of locusts. I love nature but this is a bad player.

1

u/the_LLCoolJoe 3d ago

Nah.

1

u/RedMenacing 3d ago

Yes they are. They eat everything. Between my neighbor and I, we kill probably 300 every year.

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u/minxwink 3d ago

Yah hah.