Grasshoppers

=Suborder: Caelifera=

Fig 1: A Cracker Grasshopper (//Trimerotropis verruculatus)//

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthropoda Suborder: Caelifera
 * Taxonomy**

The suborder Caelifera includes all of the short-horned grasshoppers, while the long-horned grasshoppers (usually referred to as katydids) and crickets are in the suborder Ensifera (3). Grasshoppers occur throughout the world and the continental US with over 10,000 species known [|(1)]. Most grasshoppers prefer open dry habitats with lots of grass and low lying vegetation, while some do occur in forests and jungles [|(1)]. Some grasshoppers will spit up a bitter brown liquid as a defense mechanism when handled during collection [|(2)]. Before molting, grasshoppers become less active and do not eat; during molting the grasshopper swallows air to build up pressure and crack the old cuticle [|(2)].

Grasshoppers can vary in color from brown, green, gray, and even some reddish coloration. They are medium to large insects with lengths between 1 to 7 cm, they have chewing mouth parts, two pairs of wings (one narrow and tough and the other wide and flexible), large hind legs for jumping, short antennae (usually between 20-24 segments), and in some species the males have brightly colored wings to attract mates [|(1)][|(2)]. Some short-horned grasshoppers sing, but do so in a different fashion than their long-horned counterparts. They do so by rubbing pegs on the hind legs against the wing covers; they also hear differently in that the tympanum (ear) is located on the first abdominal segment rather than on the front leg at the base of the tibia (3).
 * Description**

Female short-horned grasshoppers lack an ovipositor (a long, sharp egg laying tube) unlike their long-horned relatives, and lay eggs by burying the abdomen and leaving behind a pod of eggs (3). Short-horned grasshoppers can become one of two different kind of social grasshopper depending on where the egg pod is laid in relation to other egg pods. If the egg pod is solitary and the individuals grow to maturity away from any other egg pod, the offspring will become solitary in their lifestyle (3). However, if the egg pod is laid with or near other egg pods and grow to maturity, the offspring will become gregarious and form swarms of locusts as seen in the bible (3). The life cycle of a grasshopper is Hemimetabolous (incomplete metamorphoses), in that the young look like the adult with a few differences (one usually being no wings on the young), have the same feeding habits, and the same niche. The young hatch from the egg and look like their parents; they then go through a series of molts as they grow up into an adult. Breeding season is usually in the spring or summer with an average of 50 eggs laid per season per grasshopper and the offspring fend for themselves when they hatch [|(1)].
 * Life Cycle**

Fig 2: Life cycle not including egg.

Grasshoppers are herbivores and eat grass, leaves, stems, flowers, and sometimes scavenge dead insects for extra protein [|(1)]. Most of the predators of grasshoppers are birds, lizards, mantids, spiders, and rodents; they use their large hind legs to jump and their wings to fly in order to escape predators [|(2)].
 * Predators and Prey**

Grasshoppers can have a huge impact on crops for humans in both a positive and a negative way. The droppings they produce provide good fertilizer for the plants and return nutrients to the soil; however, huge swarms of locusts can destroy whole crops on farms creating hardships for the farmers and the people that the food gets sold to [|(2)]. Grasshoppers are also utilized as a food source in other countries around the world due to the abundance and because of the high protein that is associated with insects.
 * Ecological Importance and Human Impact**

Page created by Abeles, J 1. Hammond, George. "Grasshoppers: Acrididae." Universit of Michigan Museum of Zoology, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <[]>
 * References**

2. "Grasshopper Information." University of Arizona, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013 <[]>

3. Marshall, Stephen A. (2006) "Insects Their Natural History and Diversity." Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books Inc. pp. 71-75.

Fig 1: A photo of //T. verruculatus// taken by Abeles, J
 * Images**

Fig 2: Life cycle of grasshoppers. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2013 from: <[]>