Dichroplus elongatus

In Argentina it is known as the tucura de los alfalfares, a name that literally ties it to alfalfa fields. The common name signals its long-standing reputation as a forage-crop grasshopper.

It is recorded from Argentina and Uruguay, with additional records from Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and several other regions. Its range centers on the grasslands and agricultural zones of the temperate Southern Cone.

Yes, its Argentine common name, tucura de los alfalfares, reflects its association with alfalfa fields, where it can damage forage crops. It is a spur-throated grasshopper in the subfamily Melanoplinae, a group that includes several important agricultural pests.

It is a spur-throated grasshopper in the family Acrididae and subfamily Melanoplinae. That subfamily also contains the North American crop pests of the genus Melanoplus, which occupy a similar ecological role.