The grasshopper is one of the oldest living insect groups, with evidence dating back 250 million years. Grasshoppers, for example, make sounds by rubbing to attract females. However, in some species, even females make sounds by rubbing. They have powerful rear legs that aid in their escape from predators. Grasshoppers are plane feeders in general, but when they travel in large numbers, such as locusts, they destroy crops across a large area.
Scientific name of grasshopper:
The grasshopper’s scientific name changes as the species of grasshopper changes:
- American Grasshopper – Schistocerca Americana
- Horsehead Grasshopper – Pseudo Proscopia scabra
- Desert Locust – Schistocerca gregaria
- Leaf Grasshopper – Phyllochroa ramakrishnai
Types of grasshopper:
There are 2 types of grasshopper:
Long-Horned Grasshopper:
The antennae of this grasshopper are almost the same length as the body.
Short-Horned Grasshopper:
Their antennae are roughly half the length of their bodies. When they travel, they are known as locusts.
Physical features of Grasshopper:
- The colour of a grasshopper is usually green, brown, or grey.
- Male grasshoppers, on the other hand, are more colourful in order to attract female grasshoppers.
- The weight of a grasshopper varies depending on the species, but an adult grasshopper weighs around 300 milligrammes on average.
- The grasshopper is 1.3 millimetres to 15 centimetres in length.
Characteristics of Grasshopper:
- A head, thorax, and abdomen make up their basic insect body.
- Grasshoppers have compound eyes that provide them with 360-degree vision.
- Touch and scent are sensed by a pair of antennae.
- They have a hard cuticle consisting of overlapping plates, as well as a segmented abdomen and thorax (Composed of chitin).
- They have three pairs of legs and two sets of wings. The Grasshopper’s abdomen is divided into eleven segments.
Life Cycle of Grasshopper:
The Acrididae family includes grasshoppers and locusts. Locusts are grasshoppers that form a swarm when specific circumstances are met. Dense vegetation growth after a long period of no vegetation is an example of such situations. Locusts have a longer flight than grasshoppers. Grasshoppers and locusts have quite different structures, despite the fact that they look very similar. The grasshopper goes through an incomplete transformation phase. In a grasshopper’s life cycle, there are three stages from birth to adulthood:
Egg stage:
The female grasshopper lays her eggs beneath the soil or on leaf litter shortly after fertilisation. The female grasshopper then sprays a sticky material over the eggs, forming an egg pod with between 200 and 300 eggs. During the fall and winter seasons, the eggs are found under the sand or amid the leaf litter. The eggs hatch after ten months, during the warmer months of summer or spring, and the nymphs emerge.
Nymph stage:
The nymphs emerge from their individual eggs and wander around looking for plant foliage to consume. The nymph has the same appearance as the adult grasshopper. Their reproductive organs and wings have not yet developed, which is the only distinction. Moulting is the process through which an animal sheds its skin in order to begin fresh development. In the case of grasshoppers, the nymph passes through 5 to 6 moulting phases before becoming an adult grasshopper.
Adult stage:
The nymph begins to develop wings after 25 to 30 days in the adult stage. The adult grasshoppers reach sexual maturity after 15 days. The adult grasshopper, unlike the nymph, has greater mobility and the capacity to hunt and flee from predators in their surroundings. Despite the fact that a grasshopper’s lifespan is only twelve months, only 50% of grasshoppers reach that stage and die naturally. Many adult grasshoppers perish as a result of predators such as birds, lizards, and other animals.
Grasshopper’s food and grasshopper as food:
Grasshoppers are insects with a small size. Many birds and snakes that share the ecosystem with grasshoppers eat them as a result. Grasshoppers come in approximately 11,000 different species, with the bulk of them being herbivores, meaning they exclusively eat plants.
Grasshoppers are a common food source for a variety of animals. Birds, spiders, reptiles, beetles, and a variety of other insects are the most common predators of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are a favourite food of some people. Grasshoppers and other insects are both traditional foods and natural protein sources.
Conclusion:
Grasshopper is consumed as food in a number of nations, including China’s food market, Indonesia, Japan, and a number of others. The “cyborg grasshoppers” were created by a Washington University (St. Louis) researcher. Seven grasshoppers were used to discover the explosives, which were found to be 80 percent accurate. They’ve also been utilised as a sign of liberty, independence, spirituality, and enlightenment, among other things.