In the spring, grasshoppers chirp in the grass: getting to know the insect

The green grasshopper is an insect from the order Orthoptera, familiar to us from childhood. He surprises with his originality. Having in its arsenal of advantages such an amazing adaptation as jumping legs, this little stubborn creature spends hours crawling from blade to blade of grass to overcome 2-3 meters. Or it spreads its wings and flies the distance, saving its unique “jumping ability” for another occasion.

"Headshot"

“New markets and food products are shifting towards small bugs as a healthy, sustainable alternative to animal protein. Bizarre fantasies may dance in your head, but it's not that crazy. Overcoming the 'ick' factor of eating crickets and other insects may seem like a big hurdle, but the benefits you gain in taste, nutrition, and sound arguments about 'saving the world' outweigh any preconceptions you may have." “ick” factor – a feeling of dirt, wrongness, disgust. These are the arguments of Americans who advocate eating grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts (these insects are not much different). In one recent example of the trend, every day, University of Connecticut students buy a fresh batch of whole crickets from a truck, grown and cooked in a carbon dioxide atmosphere by UConn in Storrs.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Grasshopper in nature

Grasshopper life cycles vary depending on the species. Eggs are laid when the female pushes her ovipositor into grass or sand. All grasshoppers lay their eggs in the soil in dense, grouped pods. Relatively dry soils, undisturbed by tillage or irrigation, are preferred.

Oviposition may be concentrated in specific areas with favorable soil texture, slope and orientation. The female grasshopper coats the eggs with a foamy substance, which soon hardens into a protective covering and protects them during the winter.

The egg stage is the overwintering stage of most, but not all, grasshoppers. The eggs overwinter in the soil and begin to hatch in the spring. Young grasshoppers can be seen hopping around in May and June. One generation of grasshoppers is born once a year.

When the eggs hatch, tiny first-stage larvae emerge to the surface and seek out tender foliage to feed. The first few days are critical for survival. Unfavorable weather or lack of suitable food can lead to high mortality. Surviving grasshoppers continue to develop over the next few weeks, usually molting through five or six stages before eventually reaching adult form.

Adult grasshoppers can live for months, alternating between feeding and mating and laying eggs. Species that remain in the egg stage in winter die out in late summer and early autumn. A few species, such as the most notable spotted-winged grasshopper, spend the winter as larvae, remain active during warm periods, and can develop into an adult form by late winter.

Eating grasshoppers - normalize weight

These insects are a good basis for dietary nutrition. Having almost no fat, they contain chitin and chitosan, which help reduce weight by cleansing the body, in particular of trans fat deposits. I ate mayonnaise, “light butter” (spread), cake, baked goods, chips, and they contained regular or palm oil-based margarine containing trans fats. That is, lipids with a left-handed molecule, which are poorly digested, but are often deposited in cellulite and blood vessels so that the gym has little effect. But the menu with grasshoppers helps.

Origin of the species and description

Modern grasshoppers are descended from ancient ancestors that lived long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Fossil evidence shows that primitive grasshoppers first appeared during the Carboniferous period, more than 300 million years ago. Most ancient grasshoppers are preserved as fossils, although grasshopper larvae (the second stage in a grasshopper's life after the initial egg phase) are sometimes found in amber. Grasshoppers are divided according to the length of their antennae (tentacles), which are also called horns.

Video: Grasshopper

There are two main groups of grasshoppers:

• grasshoppers with long horns;
• grasshoppers with short horns.

The short-horned grasshopper (family Acrididae, formerly Locustidae) includes both harmless, non-migratory species and the often destructive, swarming, migratory species known as locusts. The long-horned grasshopper (family Tettigoniidae) is represented by the katydid grasshopper, meadow grasshopper, cone-headed grasshopper and shield grasshopper.

Other orthoptera are also sometimes called grasshoppers. The pygmy grasshopper (family Tetrigidae) is sometimes called the partridge or pygmy locust. Leaf-rolling grasshoppers (family Gryllacrididae) are generally wingless and lack hearing organs.

Grasshoppers improve blood flow

They cleanse blood vessels, as well as the intestines and soft tissues with the help of chitin and chitosan. Food can be indigestible, not completely digested, and release toxins. And all sorts of by-products, semi-finished products, fast foods are replete with preservatives, antibiotics, harmful flavoring additives and dyes. Chitins cleanse blood vessels. Easily soluble and absorbable iron contained in bugs helps the reproduction of red blood cells. Grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets contain as much or more iron than beef. Consumption of these insects reduces one of the most common diseases - iron deficiency anemia.

Lifestyle

The green grasshopper (photo above) is most active from May to September, and by time of day - from dusk. Favorite places of settlement are chernozem soil of medium or low humidity overgrown with weeds and bushes.

The gluttony of these insects is incomprehensible. During periods of abundance, they are able to hunt for days on end, and wait for prey, using their camouflage, in a motionless state. At the right moment, when a gaping small insect finds itself in an area of ​​free access, the “little green one” suddenly throws out its front pair of legs in front of itself and firmly grabs the victim. The power of the jaws (mandibles) is so great that the chitinous skeleton of any insect is not a problem for them. If the hunt does not bring results, the grasshopper’s diet consists of greens, and, on occasion, its own less dexterous brothers.

What if someone attacks him, a representative of the Orthoptera order? The grasshopper will begin to actively resist, using its jaws and all three pairs of legs. The insect tries to scare off large encroachers on its life with a special odorous secretion.

¼ of the world's population knows that bugs can be very tasty

Eating insects, entomophagy, is practiced daily by about 2 billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Humans have consumed insects for centuries, and they have become a staple animal in many of the planet's conventionally vegetarian diets. They are usually eaten freshly caught, raw, and considered a delicacy. The aversion to food insects is largely due to the barrier of tradition in the Western world. Although morals change. Some terrarium owners, for example those who keep turtles, breed insects for their pets, and sometimes try them themselves, preparing them to their own taste.

Reproduction of green grasshopper

The period of reproduction and the most intensive reproductive development of the grasshopper occurs in July-September. This time of year is characterized by the maximum musicality of insects, and the sound production of each individual is individual and unique, like the modulation of the human voice.

After mating, the female carries the eggs for several days, and then, individually or in small groups of 3-8 pieces, lays them in the most inconspicuous and inaccessible places - in the soil, between the rhizomes of trees, in the cracks of dried tree bark. The total number of eggs can reach six hundred units. The eggs will remain in the shelter throughout the cold season, until in the spring, with the onset of warmth, the larvae - nymphs - hatch.

Outwardly, nymphs are no different from an adult, only in tiny size and a huge appetite, but upon closer examination one can note their lack of wings. Since the small insect is covered with a chitinous skeleton, incapable of growth, during development the grasshopper sheds the integument that has become tight up to eight times, under which, like a molar under a milk tooth, a new, larger skeleton develops. Before the “imago” period - reaching the level of development of an adult, the young animals develop two pairs of wings and reproductive organs.

Grasshoppers support environmental sustainability

According to Water Foot Print, a cow uses 15,400 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef. The main part of this water is spent on irrigation for feed crops for the cow. Growing fast-growing and unpretentious grasshoppers and crickets opens up the opportunity to produce commercial food products, saving on water and production space. Insects are an alternative to animal protein and can be a sustainable way to reduce the effects of global warming. They have a tiny ecological footprint. They emit far fewer greenhouse gases, require little water, and consume less food per unit weight than any mammal.

Population and species status

More than 20,000 species of grasshoppers have been identified worldwide, and more than 1,000 exist in the United States. The grasshopper population is not in danger of decline or extinction. Many species of grasshoppers are common herbivores, feeding on a variety of plants, but some species feed only on grass. Some species, under the right conditions, can have population booms and cause billions of dollars in damage to food crops each year.

Grasshoppers are culinary versatile

Crickets have a subtle flavor that some describe as nutty or popcorn-like. Dishes made from fresh insects are easy to prepare by first grinding them in a blender. How to eat grasshoppers? The most accessible and popular food product in the United States is “cricket” or “crack” flour – dried ground insects. It is generally accepted that a few tablespoons can provide nutritional benefits to any meal. Crack flour contains twice as much protein as beef; it contains twice as much iron as spinach; more vitamin B12 than salmon. Crack flour can be added to smoothies, baked goods, sauces, and more.

What does a grasshopper eat?

Photo: Grasshopper in Russia

All grasshoppers are herbivores, feeding mainly on grass. More than 100 species of grasshoppers are found in Colorado, and their feeding habits vary. Some primarily feed on grass or sedges, while others prefer broad-leaved plants. Other grasshoppers limit their feeding to plants that have little economic value, and some even feed primarily on weed species. However, others readily feed on garden and landscape plants.

Among vegetable crops, some plants are preferred, such as:

Grasshoppers rarely feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs. However, during outbreak years, even these can be damaged. In addition, grasshoppers can accidentally damage shelterbelt plantings when they lean on branches and chew on bark, sometimes causing small branches to die.

Results

So, there is a problem: the vast majority of us do not consume an abundance of crayfish, crabs, shrimp, lobsters, Ocean pasta, that is, products containing body-cleansing agents - chitin and chitosan. Also, sports and dietary nutrition are not many “ready” sources. We have to think about including something less traditional on the menu. Insects, like crustaceans, are nutritious and covered in chitin. Suitable for diets and sports, promotes cleansing. The arguments are interesting; they are supported by patented industrial technologies for growing grasshoppers, producing crack flour, and making food products from it. Think for yourself, decide for yourself. If there is no fish, a grasshopper will do instead of a lobster. To someone. Fitness bars made from crack flour look competitive with “crab sticks” - made from ice cream, bleached, colored minced fish. Still, I think that “Ocean” krill paste is healthier than grasshoppers. And, you can successfully breed marine or freshwater shrimp. Be that as it may, from deserts to the tropics, grasshoppers as food are a fashionable trend in an old tradition.

Who is a grasshopper and what does it look like?

Name: True grasshoppers Lat.:
Tettigoniidae

Class: Insects - Insecta Order: Orthoptera - Orthoptera

The famous grasshopper belongs to the order Orthoptera, along with such famous insects as:

• crickets;
• locusts;
• mole crickets.

The family of true grasshoppers includes a huge number of diverse species that have significant differences in both appearance and lifestyle.

Appearance of grasshoppers

Color

The color of grasshoppers can vary from yellow and bright green to gray and black. Various stripes and spots are most often applied on top of the main color. The shade of color and pattern on the body of a grasshopper is essentially a kind of camouflage for protection from natural enemies, and therefore largely depends on the habitat of a particular species.

Head

The grasshopper's head is generally oval in shape. In the frontal part there are two large oval or round eyes. The structure of the visual organs of these insects is simple, faceted.

Body Shape

The insect body most often has a rounded, elongated shape and a smooth surface. But quite often there are species with bright distinctive features, for example, a spindle-shaped body shape or various tubercles and growths on its surface.

Limbs

The front and middle pair of limbs are designed for walking. They are quite thin in shape and much less developed than the rear pair. But the hind legs are very well developed. The thighs of the hind legs are noticeably thickened and have a slightly flattened shape on the sides. It is the long hind legs that are designed to perform the famous grasshopper jumps.

Close-up photo of a grasshopper.

The grasshopper's mouthparts are its distinctive feature; with it it makes sounds, the famous chirping. It is considered to be gnawing and consists of the following parts:

• large upper lip covering the jaws;
• a pair of strong, asymmetrical upper jaws;
• a pair of lower jaws;
• split lower lip.

Why do they come

Before figuring out how to get rid of crickets in your home, you need to find out what attracts them to your home.
In summer they mainly live in green areas near houses, and in autumn they migrate to basements and apartments. Noisy insects are attracted to the following conditions:

It is very difficult for a person to detect a bug by its chirping. Insects have well-developed hearing, and they immediately fall silent when they sense approaching steps.

Useful tips

Knowing the peculiarities of a cricket’s life, the question of how to get rid of them in a garden or apartment can be easily resolved. It will help to expel the bugs by reducing favorable conditions for their reproduction to zero.

Necessary:

As for the garden area, it should also be kept clean. After harvesting, do not leave unnecessary objects on the ground - building materials, film, fallen leaves and other debris. When digging up your garden, take out all the excess – weeds and plant debris.

Locust

It is possible that a locust or grasshopper is giving a concert in your garden. This is the closest relative of grasshoppers, found almost everywhere except in the coldest areas. They feed only on plants.

Locusts have become notorious for their monstrous appetite and ability to gather in swarms of billions. Every day, locusts eat as much plant food as they weigh. It would seem that this is not much, only 2 g, but a flock of a billion insects already absorbs 2000 tons! In Russia, locusts live in the lower reaches of the Volga, Ural, Don, and Terek.

Folk remedies for crickets

If you are haunted by crickets in your garden, folk remedies can also help.

Wormwood is good against these pests in the form of a strong decoction for treating the soil, or simply spread between the beds and plants. To do this, take a metal bucket, fill it tightly with wormwood grass, fill it with water, and put it on the fire. You need to wait until the water boils, remove the bucket from the heat, dilute the resulting broth with water 1 to 4. The resulting liquid must be used to treat all the soil in the area, especially where there are cricket burrows.

Cricket and his holes

After a couple of days, we loosen the soil and cultivate the soil again - this method is not a panacea, but it is harmless and significantly reduces the number of pests. The larvae of these insects also die from wormwood.

Sprinkling the soil near the stem with red hot pepper powder repels the pest. Sometimes pepper is mixed with tobacco dust (sold for gardeners) and cultivated between the beds. Neutralized poultry droppings also help well for these purposes.

An additional technique can be, oddly enough, plastic film; it is especially good to use in the spring or in cool weather. Crickets are heat-loving insects; if you spread crumpled pieces of film around the area, then at nightfall they will crawl inside the folds. In the morning you can start the “hunt”, the main thing is to show dexterity, since crickets are jumping and are afraid of bright lighting.

If you talk to summer residents about this topic, you can learn many different ways to remove crickets from the garden.

For example, draft beer poured into the bottom of a three-liter can (about a quarter of the capacity) is an effective bait for insects. To do this, the bottle is buried up to the neck. Attracted by the grainy smell of beer, the pests fall into the trap and drown.

The cricket escapes from the chase

At first, pests can be exterminated mechanically, but keep in mind that they are prolific and actively reproduce with the onset of warm weather.

If you have crickets in your garden, you have already decided how to get rid of them and even purchased chemicals, remember that the frequency of irrigation is a maximum of 2 times! At least 30 days must pass since the last treatment, only then can you begin harvesting.

Source

Insect nutrition

Green grasshoppers are predatory insects. They feed mainly on butterflies,

caterpillars and other small insects, sometimes eating larvae or weaker representatives of their species. Grasshoppers wait for their prey, sitting quietly in the grass, grab it tightly with their 4 front legs and immediately eat it.

If difficulties arise in finding insects, grasshoppers can feed on plant foods: flowers, foliage, tree buds, plant stems, grass and some cereals.

Menu

What grasshoppers feed on crops harms farmers. They love to eat grape buds and flowers. Did you know that the grasshopper is primarily nocturnal? But during the day he hides in secluded places, and comes out to hunt only at dusk. By the way, he is not such a harmless insect. In nature, grasshoppers are actually predators. And although their diet includes plant foods, the main menu consists of small butterflies, mites, and caterpillars. Hiding in ambush, the grasshopper waits for prey and with its powerful paws that are in front, grabs the victim. Then the “hunter”, using strong jaws, shreds the caught insect and then eats it. The size of the prey matters; the victim should not be larger than the “hunter”. Grasshoppers, cannibals, do not exclude their small brothers, as well as their larvae, from their menu. They are not gourmets, so they eat everything that comes their way. As it turned out, plant and animal food is what grasshoppers eat.

Another very interesting fact. If you think that everything that jumps green or gray at you when you walk on the grass is grasshoppers, then no. They are often confused with fillies or representatives of the Locust family. He himself hid in a shelter and quietly dozed.

The life of grasshoppers is very short-lived, about one year, including the larvae.

When they chirp

Typically, crickets begin making sounds after sunset. It is in complete darkness that these musicians leave their hiding places. In nature, where crickets are not negatively affected by human activity, it is not a problem to hear these insects even during the day. Day and night they can also be heard during the mating season. Silencing this “musician” is quite simple; just get close to him at a certain distance. Sensing danger, the cricket will immediately hide in its hole.

Interesting fact! At night, crickets feel safe, which is why they make sounds mainly after sunset.

The structural features of the acoustic apparatus of grasshoppers do not allow them to make sounds at night. As soon as dew begins to fall, the wet organ cannot make sounds. Therefore, grasshoppers chirp exclusively during the day.

The Japanese simply adore these little “musicians”, so many breed them at home to enjoy this melody all the time.

How to get rid of insects

During active reproduction, in the presence of comfortable conditions, insects can completely destroy all the hosts’ crops. To find out how to get rid of crickets in your garden or home, study all the methods of control.

Chemicals

There are many effective means that completely destroy pests, both adults and larvae and eggs:

Aerosols act on bugs through direct contact. Insecticides are more effective in use; they penetrate the insect’s body through the chitinous membrane and paralyze the nervous system, destroying pests.

Traditional methods

Chemicals pose a danger to households and pets, so it is better to use more acceptable products.

Our ancestors knew many ways to help get rid of pests:

Wormwood decoction

For room treatment

Dry and chop the leaves and stems of the plant. Stir 2 tbsp in a liter of water. herbal mass, bring to a boil and cook for 4-5 minutes. Leave to infuse for 1.5-2 hours. Strain the broth and fill a spray bottle with it. Treat baseboards, window frames, all kinds of cracks and trims.

For garden treatment

Fill the bucket completely with wormwood and fill it with water. Bring to a boil, strain and dilute with water in a 1x4 ratio. The resulting composition is used to treat the soil on the site, especially carefully watering the habitats of crickets.

Sealing wax

This method is effective when treating enclosed spaces. Sealing wax is lit near the cracks. Crickets cannot stand the smell of resin and leave their homes.

Pepper

Use red hot pepper powder, which is sprinkled on the soil between the beds. Pepper can be mixed with tobacco dust and bird droppings.

Pyrethrum (a type of chamomile)

The plants are dried and crushed. Use dry. Plant powder is scattered in areas where insects may live. Can also be used in the garden.

Traps

Natural Helpers

Birds that feast on these insects become selfless and active helpers in the fight against crickets.
Starlings and tits are especially fond of bugs. To attract them, install feeders in the garden and replenish their contents regularly. Hedgehogs and grass snakes actively hunt for crickets. To attract hedgehogs to your garden, use the following techniques:

Control measures

Methods to combat this insect have not yet been sufficiently developed. For preventive and exterminatory purposes, the following is recommended:

• It is advisable to locate tobacco plantations away from egg-laying sites (thrush and virgin areas) of the green grasshopper;
• treatment of the shag field and surrounding area with internal poisons;
• placement of bait with poison in pest habitats. This will require 30–60 kg of bran, 24 liters of water, 0.8–1.2 kg of arsenous soda.

Maliciousness

Very often, the green grasshopper damages vineyards by eating flowers, leaves and buds. The grasshopper often harms tobacco crops, citrus fruits, tea leaves and other plants.

Have you planted a beautiful boxwood bush and are afraid for its safety? Find out how to protect your plant from its biggest enemy. Read more here.

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Singing grasshopper keeping a home

Many people may think that the singing grasshopper is an excellent pet to keep at home, but actually they are right.
If you are not bothered by the fact that the pet will not live long, and will chirp without a female in a pair, then feel free to drag it home. It is not difficult to make a terrarium for a song grasshopper; any container with sufficient ventilation, approximately 40x30x30 in size for 2-3 song grasshoppers, will do. Read how to make an insectarium with your own hands. Information about the amount of space required was taken from the Internet; at home I kept them in spartan conditions, about 5-6 individuals in a 12-liter aquarium in a vertical orientation, gradually feeding them to the spider.

It is recommended to sprinkle sawdust at the bottom of the container, and place a jar of wet peat in the corner, into which the female will lay larvae. I think any substrate will do, even soil from the street, with the proviso that you will then have to look for the eggs of the singing grasshopper by hand. You should also place various driftwood and sticks in the container to increase the usable area and allow the grasshopper to climb branches.

The singing grasshopper should be fed with insects; at home, you can feed it with food insects such as marbled cockroaches or Turkmen cockroaches; you should also offer greens in the form of various plants from the street.

Song grasshopper eggs along with the substrate should be removed at the end of August and placed in the refrigerator until the end of February. Then they are removed and the little singing grasshoppers are waited for to emerge.

I hope you liked the article and it was informative; you can see photographs of other insects in Russia in the special