I always enjoy seeing grasshoppers around my place. There’s something about their athletic leaping that evokes my admiration.
My goodness, if a human could jump on the same scale, that person would win every Olympic medal around.
North of Mexico, there are some 600 species of grasshoppers; they have three life stages – egg, nymph and adult. They are a member of the locust family, I have used grasshoppers for bait and caught some good-sized catfish using them, They can grow to be quite large, the lubber species in the South reaches over three inches in length, The lubber is also unusual among grasshoppers in that it tastes terrible, containing many nasty chemicals in its tissues. But the lubber is an exception; most hoppers are quite tasty and are a rich source of protein for birds, rodents, raccoons and possums, also people.
I recall a trip to Mexico where I was offered a fried grasshopper as a treat and it was quite good – sort of like a fried corn chip.
Grasshoppers consist of silica and lignins that can make their tissues tough and hard to chew for some insects. But grasshoppers have powerful mandibles, or jaws, that let them chew with ease, although, like the teeth of a horse, these mandibles are worn down over time by their tough diet.
Grasshoppers are dormant in winter, but emerge again in late spring. I hope you’ll see a few leaping about your place eventually. They are a sign your habitat is in a natural state and free of killing pesticides.
Here’s to grasshoppers – long may they leap!
Image sourced from MetroCreative
