Funny Facts About Grasshoppers
Go to any large meadow or field in the United States and you will undoubtedly see more than a few familiar, jumping, green insects--grasshoppers. Grasshoppers have figured into human history in a variety of ways. They are very interesting and important insects. You probably know some of the more common facts about grasshoppers (they jump high, they have large eyes, they eat plants), but there are many other facts about grasshoppers that you may have never heard of. Does this Spark an idea?
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Grasshopper Anatomy
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Grasshoppers have five eyes; two large compound eyes and three single eyes, one above each antenna and one below and in between the antennae. Grasshoppers do not have ears, but instead hear through the use of an organ called a tympanum, it is found on the abdomen where legs connect to the body. A grasshopper's legs are strong enough to push with a force 20 times its body weight.
Grasshoppers in History
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Grasshoppers have caused many agricultural disasters when in their most dangerous form, locusts. Locusts are biologically identical to grasshoppers, but differ in how they tend to swarm in large groups, sometimes made of billions of grasshoppers. In locust form, grasshoppers can consume millions of tons of plant matter. One particular locust swarm in 1988 contained over 150 billion locusts. In 1848, a plague of grasshoppers attacked a settlement of Mormons but were destroyed by a flock of seagulls. A monument was later built to honor the seagulls.
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Grasshopper Habits
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Grasshoppers make music with their legs just like their cricket cousins. This is called stridulation. The sounds can be made by rubbing the legs against the abdomen or by rubbing the legs and wings together. Grasshoppers can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Grasshoppers have some strange defense mechanisms, one particularly odd defense is spitting a brown, foul liquid from their mouths. Grasshoppers can eat almost any type of plant matter in existence, including some poisonous plants.
Eating Grasshoppers
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The practice of eating grasshoppers, locusts and crickets is called acridophagy. Many cultures around the world, but particularly in Asia, South America and Africa regularly incorporate grasshoppers into their diets. In 1984, an archaeological expedition in the Lakeside Cave in Utah found much evidence of large consumption of grasshoppers by ancient Native American tribes. Grasshoppers can be roasted, fried, boiled or even coated in chocolate. A pound of grasshoppers is more healthful than a pound of beef.
Other Facts
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Grasshoppers destroy $80 million dollars worth of crops in the United States every year. Flies are the major nonhuman predator to grasshoppers because they eat grasshopper eggs. The largest grasshoppers in the world are 10 inches long. A grasshopper's legs can walk on their own even after being detached from the grasshopper's body. There are 18,000 different species of grasshoppers. Females grasshoppers will lay eggs, cover them with a natural polymer and let them set through winter until they hatch in warmer weather.
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References
- Photo Credit grasshopper image by Igors Leonovs from Fotolia.com
