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This is a nymph of the green-striped grasshopper, Chortophaga viridifasciata. The adults are…well, let’s say they’re variable in color, so this little one may be brown when it grows up, or green, or possibly a shade of neon pink with bright green wings (there are multiple subspecies, or possibly not, involved, and it’s all very confusing).

Adults are about 30mm long, with females being a bit larger. This little baby was maybe 1.5cm long. The species lives all over the US and into South America, depending on what you’re defining as a species this week. They live in grassy areas, hay meadows, and along roadsides, preferably near water.