Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States

This species is quite similar to the handsome grasshopper, Syrbula admirabilis, in appearance: slender body, pronounced slanted face, and long hind legs. Also, in males the slender antennae are expanded at the tip. In males, greenish forms and blackish forms occur. Both sexes tend to have some black markings on the lateral lobes of the pronotum. They tend to lack a crenulate pattern on the forewings. The hind wings are black, an unusual character in this subfamily. Males are 21-32 mm long, females 30-46 mm.

Montezuma's grasshopper resembles the handsome grasshopper, Syrbula admirabilis; it is distinguished by the black on the lateral lobes of the pronotum and the black hind wings.