I have never in my life seen a purple grasshopper, but check this guy out!!! He is friend-colored AND friend-shaped

Ohhh!! This is a really cool find. Grasshoppers and katydids especially are prone to a condition called erythrism, which is an unusual reddish pigmentation in animals hair, skin, exoskeleton, etc. - either from the lack of other pigments or an excess of red pigments. Grasshoppers and katydids with this condition usually end up looking pink.

Unfortunately, these dudes don’t often make it to adulthood because they have no camouflage. This one in particular is a nymph, not an adult. Godspeed, lil dude, hope you get to grow up!

Here’s a katydid with erythrism:

Photo by Richard Whitby