Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are also known as locusts. They have been on earth for more than 250 million years. As the Bible says: "then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree,but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads..." Because of what happened many years ago, many people truly detest the grasshopper but here learning doesn't hurt.I know several people and children who love grasshoppers.

As you can see above, the grasshopper is green and is on a green leaf with other green leaves around it. He is camouflaged. This was taken at a local botanical garden. I had just purchased a macro lens for my camera and was happy to see this guy. We watched each other. This photo got me interested in grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers are the color of the world around them so that they can hide. Of course this is not always true as they fly and or jump around. They can fly 8 mph.

On the right you will see a green grasshopper on a red lily. This was taken at the same botanical garden many years later.

The ears of a grasshopper is just under the wing. To make noise, they rub their back legs together.  They grow to about 2 inches and their diet consists of plants, leaves, grass and crops. Because they enjoy crops so much, farmers find them a true pest as they can wipe out a crop.

They have 6 legs and 2 sets of wings just like butterflies. Their hind legs are so strong that they push off on them to jump or fly away.

Did you know they can see all the way around themselves? They have compound eyes with a total of 5 eyes! Where are they? The first two are in front, the next two are at the bottom of each antennae, and the last one is in center of the antennaes.

In the top photo you can see the mouth of the grasshopper. They have two jawbones so they can bite down and move across the mouth when eating.

Grasshoppers are protein for many people in the world. They are eaten in African, Asia, Center and South America.Native Americans also enjoyed them as their protein source. They are found worldwide except for Antarctica.

Why are they here in the insect world? Birds, lizards, spiders, ants, and others eat them. Some insects and small animals eat the grasshoppers' eggs. So, they do have a purpose on Earth.

Do you like to sing? Male grasshoppers do as it gets the females' attention.



Grasshoppers are all around us. When you go out for a walk, keep your eyes open for these amazing creatures. I go out frequently and have never experienced one land on me. I'm not a plant.

Enjoy!

Next week: learn about the Great Horned Owl (January's bird of the month)
We all have birds, flowers, and even trees for the month we were born.


Thanks for visiting!

Judy

References:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/grasshopper.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-grasshoppers-1968334

https://www.ducksters.com/animals/grasshopper.php

http://tonsoffacts.com/28-interesting-weird-facts-grasshoppers/

justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-grasshoppers/

http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/grasshopper_facts/584/

https://animalsake.com/facts-about-grasshopper

http://science4fun.info/grasshopper/