An OU student found a rare mutated pink grasshopper last week a mile and a half away from campus.
Gracie Shepherd, an environmental engineering junior, was taking her dog outside on Monday when she spotted the bright pink insect among the green vegetation. Her grandma was an environmentalist and botanist, so nature walks have always been a big part of her life. Insect spotting is not typically her goal, however.
“I definitely don't look for insects on purpose, but whenever I'm outside with (my dog), I do like to sometimes just sit down and kind of be present in nature,” Shepherd said.
At first, she thought it was a unique species of grasshopper, but discovered with a quick internet search it was more likely a more common species of grasshopper with a rare mutation, causing its vibrant coloring.
“It was just a normal part of my day and then all of a sudden I see a pink grasshopper,” Shepherd said. “It kind of felt like walking in the woods and seeing a unicorn.”
Oklahoma is home to over 120 different species of grasshoppers. Alex Harman, a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University with a focus on grasshoppers, said this one is likely a northern green-striped grasshopper with a mutation called erythrism.
Harman said the mutation is rare, approximating it occurs in around .5% to 1% of grasshoppers. However, because of how common grasshoppers are in Oklahoma, he typically sees ones with this specific mutation two to three times a year.
“It’s not that rare to find a pink grasshopper, but it's still cool and can definitely get people excited about nature,” Harman said.
While grasshoppers are abundant in Oklahoma, other insect populations are at risk because of the warming climate and loss of habitat. Activists work to protect the biodiversity of the state through a variety of efforts, including outreach and education programs aimed at making people excited about insects.
“In this day and age, people need to have some sort of connection with nature in order to care about it,” Harman said. “You give a kid something like a pink grasshopper that they can hold, then they can be like, ‘Wow, I never knew this existed before.’ That's something that then can spark an interest in nature.”
This story was edited by Ismael Lele, Anusha Fathepure and Peggy Dodd. Natalie Armour and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
