Early juvenile, Geneva, Seminole County, Florida.
Photograph by Jenny Szilagyi, used by permission.
When asked to identify this nymph, John Spooner wrote, on 25 Aug 2004, "Definitely Scudderia, probably 2nd instar cuneata. Of all Scudderia, only the furcata group have the banded antennae. Furcata newborn are splashed with green all over. Cuneata 1st instar is bright yellow with black markings. The second instar is darker with green appearing. The third instar is more green with relatively less orange-yellow and is difficult to distinguish from furcata. In all the phaneropterines that I have reared or studied developmental history, the fourth instar is the first stage to have the reproductive plates extended beyond the abdomen coupled with ventrolaterally directed wing pads. The fifth instar is the first to have the wing pads projected caudally but reversed in transverse position to each other. The sixth instar has the larger wing pads, which are also in normal transverse position to each other. Hope this is useful."
