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Just something to celebrate International Grasshopper Day, the day when we stop and show some appreciation (and maybe some love) for one of the famous chirping, ground-dwelling herbivorous bugs that we would find in our own backyards. From what we know, grasshoppers are one of the many insects that live among us and they got their name from the jumping they do with their long legs. Now, you might be wondering on what's so important or great about grasshoppers, there are plenty of facts about grasshoppers (aside from one fact that they serve as food for many other animals, including birds) that you should know about:

1. Belonging to the suborder, Caelifera, grasshoppers are perhaps some of the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic (just before the dinosaurs arrived and took over).

2. While they use their long hind legs to escape predators, grasshoppers use their shorter front legs to grasp food.

3. Grasshoppers hatch from an egg into a nymph or "hopper", while undergoing five moults, then become more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage.

4. A grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax.

5. Some species, at high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, can change color and behavior and form swarms, and are known as locusts, which can be serious pests as they eat and destroy entire crops in certain areas (at least grasshoppers, including locusts, are herbivores).

6. Grasshoppers protect themselves from predators by camouflage or, as some species do it when they're detected, attempt to startle the predator with a brilliantly colored wing flash while jumping and launching themselves into the air, though usually flying for only a short distance.

7. Some grasshopper species have warning coloration which deters predators.

8. While crickets are nocturnal, grasshoppers are diurnal.

9. Grasshoppers have long been featured in art, symbolism, and literature.

10. The study of grasshopper species is called Acridology.

Whatever you think about them, they're just animals trying to survive and thrive. So, why not just show some appreciation and respect for them for these hopping grazing insects they are, maybe just for once? Anyway, Happy International Grasshopper Day, everyone (from this hoppy and grass-loving trio gathered here).

Description
Just something to celebrate International Grasshopper Day, the day when we stop and show some appreciation (and maybe some love) for one of the famous chirping, ground-dwelling herbivorous bugs that we would find in our own backyards. From what we know, grasshoppers are one of the many insects that live among us and they got their name from the jumping they do with their long legs. Now, you might be wondering on what's so important or great about grasshoppers, there are plenty of facts about grasshoppers (aside from one fact that they serve as food for many other animals, including birds) that you should know about:

1. Belonging to the suborder, Caelifera, grasshoppers are perhaps some of the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic (just before the dinosaurs arrived and took over).

2. While they use their long hind legs to escape predators, grasshoppers use their shorter front legs to grasp food.

3. Grasshoppers hatch from an egg into a nymph or "hopper", while undergoing five moults, then become more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage.

4. A grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax.

5. Some species, at high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, can change color and behavior and form swarms, and are known as locusts, which can be serious pests as they eat and destroy entire crops in certain areas (at least grasshoppers, including locusts, are herbivores).

6. Grasshoppers protect themselves from predators by camouflage or, as some species do it when they're detected, attempt to startle the predator with a brilliantly colored wing flash while jumping and launching themselves into the air, though usually flying for only a short distance.

7. Some grasshopper species have warning coloration which deters predators.

8. While crickets are nocturnal, grasshoppers are diurnal.

9. Grasshoppers have long been featured in art, symbolism, and literature.

10. The study of grasshopper species is called Acridology.

Whatever you think about them, they're just animals trying to survive and thrive. So, why not just show some appreciation and respect for them for these hopping grazing insects they are, maybe just for once? Anyway, Happy International Grasshopper Day, everyone (from this hoppy and grass-loving trio gathered here).