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Dactylotum bicolor, also known as the rainbow grasshopper, painted grasshopper, or the barber pole grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is native to the United States, Canada and northern Mexico and exhibits aposematism (warning coloration). It was first described by the German entomologist Toussaint de Charpentier in 1843.
Dactylotum bicolor grows to an average length of about 20 mm (0.8 in) for males and 35 mm (1.4 in) for females. It is mainly black with distinctive reddish and yellowish markings, a pale green prothorax and pale green wingpads. The tibia of the hind leg bears six to eight spines. This species does not develop wings and is unable to fly.[1][2]Three subspecies are recognised:[3] - D. b. bicolor – Northern Texas, New Mexico and Mexico
- D. b. pictum – Northern and eastern part of range
- D. b. variegatum – Southern Arizona and western part of range
The coloring varies across the insect's range, with D. b. pictum being black with little red, D. b. variegatum having distinct red markings, and D. b. bicolor having a purplish or violet sheen to the background black color.[4] Before the discovery of Dichroplus silveiraguidoi in Uruguay in 1956, Dactylotum bicolor had the lowest known number of chromosomes among grasshopper species, with seventeen acrocentric chromosomes.[5]
- Leg Number: 6
Hop Height: 4ft
Favorite Treats: Dried Grass
Not for Plague use
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Taste The Rainbow 
