 |
kids / animal-facts
Animal facts |
Select an Animal :
|
|
| Fast Facts: Grasshopper
|
| Name: |
Two-striped grasshopper |
|
| Scientific name: |
Melanoplus bivitattus |
|
| Average length: |
1 - 10 cm |
|
| Life expectancy: |
around four months |
|
Did you know?
Grasshoppers are well known for their songs, which is made in different ways by different subfamilies.
Some make sounds by rubbing pegs on their hind legs together, some clatter their wings together in flight, some rub
their wings together and others do not make any noise at all.
|
Physiology
There are 18,000 kinds of grasshoppers in the world. All species of grasshoppers share
the common characteristic of being a long, slender insect and is known for its strong mandibles,
or jaws, which are adapted for chewing. The grasshopper has two pairs of wings. The front
pair is rigid, while the hind pair is larger, membranous and often brightly coloured. These
wings help some species fly well, yet others fly poorly or not at all. It also has three
pairs of legs, all of which are used for walking. The back pair is more muscular and used
for jumping or initiating flight.
There are two main groups of grasshoppers: long-horned and short-horned, determined by
the length of antennae. The two-striped grasshopper, a short-horned grasshopper, is recognized
by the stripes on its back, the colours varying due to location and maturity.
The grasshopper has no ears. Instead it uses organs called tympana to hear, circular membranes
found in the abdomen of the insect where the hind legs attach to the body. It also has five
eyes. The two large eyes are on either side of the grasshopper's head, each with thousands
of single lenses, allowing it to see in all directions. The three smaller eyes—one
at the base of each antenna and one between the two antennae—are single eyes and it
is unknown what their purpose is.
Habitats/Behaviours
Grasshoppers are well known for their songs, which is made in different ways by different
subfamilies. Some make sounds by rubbing pegs on their hind legs together, some clatter
their wings together in flight, some rub their wings together and others do not make any
noise at all.
Also renowned for its jumping ability, the grasshopper has strong hind legs to allow it
to jump 20 times the length of its body.
The grasshopper is an herbivore. Some species eat only certain types of plants while others
eat any type of plants it can find. It has been known to destroy entire crops of cotton,
clover, alfalfa and other grains, where as the two-striped grasshopper eats plants that
are toxic to cattle.
Other than humans, flies are the primary threat to the grasshopper, but it is also eaten
by birds, reptiles, skunks, rodents, coyotes, beetles and spiders.
Range
Grasshoppers live in fields, meadows and anywhere that they can find vegetation
to eat. They can be found almost everywhere in the world, except for the extreme
cold regions of the north and south poles.
|
|
|
