Bandwing Grasshoppers

Bandwings, or band-winged grasshoppers, are the subfamily Oedipodinae of grasshoppers classified under the family Acrididae. They have a worldwide distribution and were originally elevated to full family status as the Oedipodidae. Many species primarily inhabit xeric weedy fields, and some are considered to be important locusts:

Locusta migratoria: the migratory locust

Chortoicetes terminifera: the Australian plague locust

Locustana pardalina the brown locust

These grasshoppers often have colorful hindwings that may be yellow or red and edged with black. Others have black hindwings with pale edges, and a few species (including the most economically important ones) have clear hindwings. The arolium is extremely small or absent. Many species engage in crepitation, producing crackling sounds with their wings while in flight.