Grasshoppers

Quick Facts 

 Name: Grasshoppers 

Diet: Mostly herbivores feeding on grass, leaves, seeds, etc. Some species are now thought to be carnivores feeding on worms and insects! 

Behaviour: Diurnal and solitary though some species swarm in huge numbers 

Lifespan: Up to a year 

Size: usually around 1-7cm in length but the largest species is up to 14.5cm in length with a 24cm wingspan 

Habitat/Range: Every continent except Antarctica.  

Threats: Habitat loss, habitat degradation, urbanisation, agricultural intensification, light pollution, pesticide use, wildfires, and more. 

Conservation Status: Several species are threatened including 30 that are Critically Endangered 

Names & Nicknames: Grasshoppers, Short-horned grasshoppers.

Size: While most grasshopper species are around 1-7cm long, the giant red-winged grasshopper (Tropidacris cristata) can reach 14 cm in length with a 24cm wingspan – the size of a banana from wing to wing.

Smell: Bomb-sniffing grasshoppers. Yes, you read that right. Grasshoppers use receptor neurons in their antennae to detect odours floating in the air, much like we do with our noses. However, research has shown that they're surprisingly good at sniffing out chemicals found in bombs such as TNT. So perhaps in the future, we'll see crime-fighting grasshoppers.

Communication: We've all heard that enchanting chirping sound on a hot summer day. Grasshoppers are not to be confused with the high-pitched chirp of crickets, though, as they have a much harsher tone. These sounds vary slightly between species and are made by rubbing their large hind legs against their wings – and yes, you guessed it, chirping helps attract their one true love. Not all species love to sing, with some relying on scent and sounds for communication.

Favourite Hangout: Grasshoppers are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. Most species like it dry with grass and low foliage to hop through. Other species can be found anywhere from deserts to hot, steamy jungles.

Favourite Snack: Many grasshoppers like to eat... wait for it... grass. They were once thought to be herbivores, chomping on vegetation and seeds. But new research looking at the shapes of their mandibles (science speak for insect jaws) suggests that some species are most likely carnivores – scandal! Grasshoppers were around much before the evolution of grass, so would have, and still do, chow down on worms and smaller insects.

Toilet Humour: Ptooey – grasshoppers are known to spit when threatened! Affectionately known as defensive regurgitation, some species chuck out a staining brown liquid known as ‘tobacco juice' to help repel predators like birds and spiders.

Love Language: These grassanovas have a few ways to find the one. Some romantically call to their mates with a loving song, while other less vocal species may release sexy pheromones for females to pick up on. Either way, once they've united, males will hop onto a female's back, and the deed may last anywhere from 45 minutes to well over a day! Talk about stamina.

If you see them: It's a promising omen. Grasshoppers are thought to be a symbol of good luck in many cultures. They represented nobility and immortality in ancient Greece, while in Chinese culture, they symbolise abundance, happiness, and luck. So, if you see them jumping through the fields, keep that in mind!

Red Flags: Grasshopper species face many threats, from habitat loss to pesticides. An IUCN report showed that over a quarter of all grasshopper and cricket species in Europe are threatened with extinction due to unsustainable agricultural practices and increased wildfires. Another threat is light pollution – many insects, such as grasshoppers, can get attracted to artificial lights at night (ALAN). A study on Pallid-winged grasshoppers (Trimerotropis pallidipennis) during a massive outbreak in 2019, where more than 45 million of these critters descended on Las Vegas, showed that they were being drawn into the densely populated areas of the city not for the party life, but for its ALAN. Insects drifting into spaces without much food and lots of obstacles isn't the one, and it's likely the humans were shocked when 45 million hoppers descended on their houses! As our cities get brighter, this is something that could happen more and more frequently.

Epic Journeys: Like us, grasshoppers are very hungry creatures, and when food has run out, it's time to move. Many species will take to the skies to find new foliage, sometimes in spectacular fashion. When the conditions are right, like high rainfall and plenty of lush vegetation, numbers can swell, and serotonin (a neurotransmitter also found in humans that affects everything from sleep to aggression) is released, turning grasshoppers from timid flyers that actively avoid each other into highly social eating machines now known as locusts. These locusts don't just become more social but physically change, becoming stronger, darker, and more mobile – it would be like you changing into the Hulk when you're hungry. Thankfully, only around 20ish of the 10,000 or so species of grasshopper swarm like this.

Glow-up: Grasshoppers undergo what is known as an incomplete metamorphosis, where they start life as an egg before hatching into a nymph and then blossoming into an adult. But whereas a full metamorphosis, such as with a butterfly, involves the caterpillar (very different-looking) and then a drastic change as a pupa into a butterfly, a nymph is just a smaller, wingless version of an adult grasshopper.

Facts: Grasshoppers are possibly the most ancient living group of chewing insects, dating back to the early Triassic, around 250 million years ago. This means that grasshoppers evolved before grass, which only evolved around 55 million years ago! Serious heritage.

Who are they in the friendship group: The jumpy friend who always seems to leap out of their exoskeleton when you surprise them.

How threatened are they: Several species are threatened, including 30 that are Critically Endangered.