Grasshoppers are insects that inhabit all continents of the planet except Antarctica. They live everywhere: in the mountains, on the plains, in forests, fields, cities and summer cottages. There is probably no person who has not seen a single grasshopper. Meanwhile, these insects are divided into 6,800 species, some of which vary greatly. Let's look at the most common and unusual ones.
What types of grasshoppers are there?
Green grasshopper
And this type is one of the simplest and most common. It can make traditional chirping noises and eats mixed food. When there is suitable prey nearby, the grasshopper is a predator. But if there is no one to catch and eat, it successfully feeds on plant foods: leaves, grass, buds of trees and shrubs, various grains, etc.
Green grasshoppers jump well and jump a short distance. Flight is possible only after a “starting” push with the hind legs.
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.
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Mormon Grasshopper
This species is classified as an insect pest, as it is capable of destroying plants specially planted by humans. Another difference between the “Mormon” is the size. Its length can reach 8 centimeters. It lives in North America, mostly in pastures, where it actively eats plant matter. This grasshopper often makes long migrations, covering a distance of up to two kilometers per day. However, he cannot fly.
Habitat
It is believed that the spread of grasshoppers originated from the Eurasian steppes, from where these insects spread everywhere. You can now meet the green singing baby in the Far and Middle East, Africa, England, Denmark, Finland and even, recently, in the Alps. Grasshoppers prefer to settle in open spaces, avoiding shaded places, so it is not easy to find one in a dense forest. And this despite the fact that the creatures cannot stand the heat at all and hide in the grass until the sun goes down!
Amblycorifa
Grasshoppers can be more than just green. This is clearly demonstrated by the grasshopper - amblycorifa. Representatives of this species can be dark brown, pink and even orange! There is also a traditional green color. Interestingly, the color of a particular grasshopper is determined without any pattern. This is not affected by either the habitat or the color of the parents. However, dark brown and orange colors are very rare.
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.
Peacock grasshopper
This grasshopper received this name because of the pattern on its wings. When raised, they actually vaguely resemble a peacock's tail. The grasshopper uses its bright colors and unusual decoration on its wings as a psychological weapon. If there is danger nearby, the wings rise vertically, imitating the large size of the insect and huge “eyes”.
Description of the appearance of the insect
The body of an adult insect, like the body of a larva, has a rich green color. Only on the wings and chest there may sometimes be dark spots. Body length – 28–36 mm. The antennae are very long, bristle-like, with a reddish tint. The length of the green grasshopper's whiskers exceeds the length of the insect's body. The grasshopper has 2 pairs of wings - front and rear. The hind wings are wide, transparent, with thin veins forming an abstract geometric pattern; the front ones are denser and narrower. At rest, the hind wings are hidden under
In front of them. The length of the wings exceeds the length of the insect's abdomen by almost 2 times. The head has an elongated shape. The eyes are round and protruding. The upper part of the pronotum has a convex or flat shape. The type of mouthparts is gnawing.
Females differ from males in the presence of a long saber-shaped or xiphoid ovipositor compressed from the sides. The hind limbs of males are much longer than the forelimbs. The hearing organs are oval membranes located on the shins of the forelimbs on both sides. In males, the elytra are equipped with a chirping organ, which is formed by a stridulatory part and a transparent resonating membrane (speculum).
Ball-headed grasshopper
This species received this name for the spherical shape of its head. In fact, this species includes several varieties of grasshoppers, for example, the steppe fatty. It is distinguished by its black-bronze color and small distribution. In our country, the steppe plum lives in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, Chechnya, and North Ossetia. Listed in the Red Book.
Features of behavior and lifestyle
Have you noticed that grasshoppers begin to actively chirp after dark? These jumpers are nocturnal , unlike the same locusts. During the day, these insects rest, becoming easy prey for predators. To help them survive, nature provided grasshoppers with colors that match the color of grass and leaves.
While on the plant, the insect matches it in color, which gives it a chance to go unnoticed and uneaten. Most species even have peculiar veins on their wings, which further increases the similarity of the grasshopper to a green leaf. If the predator nevertheless notices the prey and approaches, the jumper spreads its hind wings with eyes and makes a jump towards it, which for some time plunges the enemy into shock and amazement. This second is enough for the grasshopper to quickly disappear into the nearby thickets.
These green jumpers are loners . They do not have a permanent home and do not create burrows. They spend all day jumping among the grass and bushes, hunting for prey. Why do these insects chirp? This “singing” has two purposes: they try to attract a female and inform other males that the territory is already occupied, so they better look for another place.
Chirping, what is this?
Above we briefly explained how a grasshopper chirps. Now let's look at the process in a little more detail.
The left elytra is equipped with a membrane with a special serrated vein, which is called stridulatory. It is she who plays the role of a “musical reed”.
On the right there is a resonator membrane. To produce a chirping sound, you need to vibrate the elytra.
The melodies and volume are different, depending on the type of insect. The sounds are most often made by the male. However, there are several species where the female shows her musical abilities.
Pest or helper?
A grasshopper can bring both harm and benefit to people. For example, it destroys buds, flowers and leaves of vineyards, tobacco plants, citrus fruits, and tea.
Summer residents also do not want to see grasshoppers on their plots, since its larvae are terribly voracious, and during molting they feed on young shoots.
However, grasshoppers can also be useful. They perfectly fight the Colorado potato beetle, which often attacks potatoes, eat harmful larvae that mutilate tree bark, and exterminate insects that eat plants.
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Reproduction
During mating, the male attaches a special chamber, a spermatophore, to the female’s abdomen, inserting the neck of this kind of vial into the female’s oviduct. This process can take up to 45 minutes. After this, the lady of the heart begins to slowly eat the spermatophore, inside of which there are sperm, and the ceremony lasts for 15 hours. During this time, the sperm has time to slowly flow into the oviduct for subsequent fertilization.
After mating, the male immediately begins to chirp again and is already ready for new amorous exploits. The female lays fertilized eggs in the ground, plunging a long ovipositor into it. One clutch can contain up to several dozen cylindrical eggs.
With the arrival of cold weather, adult insects die, and the eggs continue to remain underground until spring. When the sun begins to warm up, larvae hatch from the eggs. They will have to molt 5 times to become an adult. After the last molt, the young grasshopper becomes fully fledged.
