Habitat: the Chocó areas in Colombia
Status: Not Evaluated

So I know it’s not exactly from America but the Red Blue White Monkey Hopper (Opaon varicolor) sure does look like it should be with that patriotic getup. These wingless grasshoppers come in a variety of bright, colorful shades. Others in the genus Opaon are metallic blue with a red jacket to black with an orange jacket, to all black. The purpose for these vivid colors are to warn predators that they wouldn’t make a tasty snack.

I read on the website Project Noah that photographer juanmanuel.cardonagranda encountered one of these hoppers and it was incredibly calm even with a human presence about. It knows how intimidating it is, that’s why.

I don’t know about you, but a red white and blue hopper was just the ticket to starting my 4th of July off right. Hope everyone has a great holiday!