Grasshopper

Locust

• The body of grasshoppers is divided into three primary components; the thorax, bearing the structures linked with movement, the abdomen, bearing the reproductive and digestive systems; and the head, holding the sensory systems i.e., mouthparts, eyes, and the antennae. They possess long hind legs for jumping and two pairs of wings, one the broad and flexible and the other rigid and narrow.

• The locusts are small creatures, differing in a form more than in color. Their solitary phase consists of shorter wings, a narrow pronotum, longer legs, or dorsal sclerite (with a larger head and higher chest) than the gregarious phase. In the gregarious phase, adults have long wings, broader shoulders, and a more saddle-shaped pronotum. These animal species usually look like grasshopper.

• The grasshoppers are present in many countries worldwide, except for the colder regions near the South and North poles. In addition to it, these tiny creatures are native to various habitats, such as mountains, grasslands, savannas, deserts, tropical forests, and other terrestrial regions.

• The locusts are also present throughout the world, including Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, India, Somalia, Uganda, etc. In addition to this, these insects can be found from the Mediterranean region through Europe, Germany, arid areas of China and the Siberian steppes.

• The grasshoppers vary in size and weight depending on the species. The adult grasshopper ranges in size between 0.39 and 2.75 inches. The Giant Weta is considered the largest grasshopper in the world. Furthermore, most of the grasshoppers are shades of brown or green, possessing an average weight of about 0.01 ounces.

• The locusts come in the category of insects, darkening the East African skies. These animal species are about the length of a finger, possessing a body length of about 2 to 3 inches or 6 to 8 centimeters. The Desert locust is the most giant locust in the world. Furthermore, 2 grams is their average weight. They can also consume their weight on a regular basis.

• The grasshoppers require a proper diet to survive on the earth’s surface. These tiny creatures are herbivores, meaning they will only feed on plants. Their primary diet includes seeds, stems, leaves, and flowers. However, the grasshopper also sometimes scavenges dead insects to get an extra number of proteins.

• Like other animals, the locusts also need proper food to survive on the earth’s surface. These tiny insects mostly rely on the tender tissues and leaves of the plants. They are considered rigid and strong fliers because tenacious and adult hoppers are nymphs. They eat a mixture of fresh vegetation.

• The grasshoppers communicate with each other by various means. The female and male grasshopper communicates through acoustic signals. In addition to this, these tiny creatures rub their hands against the wings using motor patterns and complex movements to create beautiful songs.

• Research has shown that a computer model was used to know about the social network between locusts. It was found that the social interactions occur between locusts when they walk, convincing the other members of their species to walk in the same direction. In addition to it, these creatures can also hear.

• Most grasshoppers are solitary and only come together during mating. However, some migratory species gather in several groups of millions to billions of individuals. These insects are most active during the day, feeding at night. They do not possess territories or nests, and some species go for longer migrations to find new food supplies.

• Research has shown that locusts show two behavioral phases; gregarious and solitarious (low densities and numbers). When solitarious individuals are repelled from other locust species, the gregarious creatures get attracted to conspecifics, forming giant aggregations; for example, marching hopper bands.

• The crickets and grasshoppers have stronger wings that help them travel long distances searching for mates or food. Besides travelling long distances, the grasshopper can also fly high of its weight and size. They can both fly and jump, reaching a speed of about 8 miles per hour.

• The locust swarms fly with the wing at the wind speed. They can cover almost 62 to 124 mi or 100 to 200 kilometers in a day and flying up to 6,600 feet or 2,000 meters above sea level. Moreover, they can fly with a wing speed of about 16 to 19 kilometers per hour.

• The grasshoppers live for a specific time, after which they die. For example, they can live an average life of about one year in the wild and for more years in captivity.

• The locusts also live for a specific time, like other animal species, after which death occurs. They live for about eight to ten weeks in the wild and for more in captivity.

• Many predators prey on grasshoppers to meet their survival needs. Their primary predators are rodents, spiders, birds, lizards, mantids, wild turkeys, hawks, raccoons, dragonflies, snakes, bats, beetles, foxes and many other animals.

• Many animals eat locusts to meet their survival needs, like grasshoppers. In addition to it, their primary predators include various animals, such as parasitoid wasps, birds, predatory beetle larvae, reptiles, predatory flies and wasps.

• According to International Union for Conservation of Nature, grasshoppers are not considered endangered species.

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature has not listed locust species as endangered species.