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IT’S THE DEVIL’S HORSE TIME OF THE YEAR
 Summertime in the humid subtropics of south Louisiana marks the arrival of the Devil’s Horses, those large, black “crickets” with yellow or red stripes and normally concealed, but bright red, wings. The critters are actually Lubber Grasshoppers (Romalea microptera), members of the short-horned grasshopper family. A popular Louisiana childhood past time before nintiendo was to harness lubbers to a matchbox and pretend they were horses pulling wagons. Many will remember having to dissect a cricket in biology lab. You guessed it! It was a lubber that may have been collected in the delta country, sold to a biological supply house, and sold back to the teacher.
Lubber grasshopper normally overwinter as eggs. Hatching occurs in the spring and soon half-inch long juvenile lubbers are everywhere, often locally extremely abundant, slowly walking about on vegetation, munching the day away. They grow to full three inch long adult size by mid-summer, breed during the next few months, lay their eggs in the soil, and die before winter. As one might expect, their abundance makes them an important food source for many species in the environment. They do not hop long distances like some grasshoppers, they simply amble along, feeding and breeding. It is not uncommon to see thousands of lubbers moving across highways where they are slaughtered by traffic. Due to their large size, dark bodies, and slow gait, interstate highway commuters have even mistaken them for tarantulas.
Their value in the ecosystem aside, they have proven to be wonderful kid-critters. They are sluggish and don’t bite, their size and color can’t help but attract attention, and they are easy to keep in a jar. Though lubbers can be found throughout the state, they are especially abundant at the Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Park.
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