Unless you happen to be a farmer of wheat, corn, barley, or anything else grasshoppers find tasty, you might not know too much about the little jumpy insects. Grasshoppers are found throughout North America and everywhere else in the world. There are more than 10,000 species of grasshoppers out there. Chances are that you have seen one while walking through the grass in the summertime. Are grasshoppers’ bites dangerous to humans or pets?
Meet the Grasshopper
Scientific Name
American Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)
Size
Grasshoppers come in a variety of sizes and colors. Males can measure between 39 and 45 millimeters long, and females measure between 42 and 55 millimeters. It is common for most insects and arachnids to have females that are larger than the males of the species.
Appearance
Grasshoppers around the world come in a variety of sizes and colors. The American grasshopper is what we are familiar with. They are pinkish-brown as adolescents and reddish-brown as young adults. Grasshoppers take on a yellowish-brown color when they hit sexual maturity so that they blend in with the foliage around them. Their wings are almost as long as their bodies and are light brown or tan with large brown spots.
Behavior
Grasshoppers are nomads for their entire lives. They seek out crops or plants that provide nourishment. Once that plant or area is devoured, the grasshopper moves to the next roadside restaurant, which could look like your garden, shrubs, trees, or flowers. They do not form colonies and live solitary lives except to breed.
Grasshoppers produce two generations each year and bury their eggs in the warm soil in your fields or gardens from February to May and then again in the fall months of September through October.
Habitat
Grasshoppers, including plants, ornamental shrubs, trees, or crops, can be found anywhere. The young cannot fly or jump far, so they remain in whatever plant they use for food, while the adults fly into nearby trees and bushes to sleep at nightfall. If your yard has many weeds, you will likely find grasshoppers there. The weather significantly affects the severity of the weed and grasshopper populations. Forests and jungles can also harbor plenty of grasshoppers and ditches filled with weeds. They live in short and tall grasses, so keeping your grass short will not help eliminate them.
Diet
Grasshoppers are overly picky when it comes to meals. They will eat any plant, shrub, tree, or crop you have growing. They are often found invading sugarcane, soybean, cotton, citrus, wheat, oats, rye, and vegetables. Nothing seems to be safe from them except sorghum and peanuts, which they are not fans of. Being a peanut farmer looks pretty good. Grasshoppers are commonly found in soybean and corn fields and cause defoliation and damage the outside of the soybean husk and corn cobs. In the fall, they are capable of completely knocking out wheat fields.
Issues
Unfortunately, these hoppy creatures are capable of producing crop damage that costs farmers millions annually. Grasshoppers feast on crops like corn, wheat, barley, soybeans, and alfalfa. The pesky buggers also devour ornamental plants and shrubs found in yards.
Why Grasshoppers are Important
Many animals rely on grasshoppers as a main part of their diet. Some animals that enjoy a grasshopper snack are birds, raccoons, frogs, lizards, spiders, mice, rats, squirrels, skunks, foxes, coyotes, falcons, and so many more. Without grasshoppers, many species would die out, which would cause a domino effect that would hurt the entire food chain.
Birds are essential in controlling grasshopper populations. Without their bottomless stomachs, grasshoppers would destroy far more of our crops, creating a situation for farmers who rely on the crops to feed their cattle. Many times, large birdhouses on long poles along the perimeter of the fields are visible. By attracting birds to move in, the crops stand a much better chance of receiving protection from the birds, meaning harvests would still happen.
There aren’t many animals that would pass up the chance to eat a grasshopper. Cats are especially interested in these fun, bouncy green snacks. They tend to play with and eat them, but not to the extent that it controls the population. Installing bat nesting boxes can also help deter grasshoppers from destroying crops or plants.
Without grasshoppers, many animal species would starve or need to find a quick replacement, which might drive them to become malnourished. If they are malnourished and sickly, their offspring will not survive, and eventually, any animals dependent on grasshoppers as their prime food source will become extinct.
How Dangerous are Grasshopper Bites to Humans?
Grasshoppers can bite humans, but they rarely do so. They do not have venom and will not cause any issues. The only time they might bite is when they are swarming, and a person gets mixed up in it, or if a person is holding a grasshopper, or if they accidentally hurt it, they will defend themselves. Their strong jaws can cause a painful bite if they are large enough.
Grasshopper: A Strange Human Delicacy
In some countries, it is possible to find grasshoppers on the menu. Chocolate-covered grasshoppers are a delicacy found in Mexico, Israel, Asia, and South and Central America. They are called “chapulines” in Mexico. In Oaxaca, grasshoppers are grilled with seasoning and served with string cheese.
In Mexico and South/Central America, grasshoppers are grilled and eaten with lime, salt, and chili. Sometimes, they are even added to salsa. They have a meaty flavor but tend to taste like whatever seasoning they are prepared in. Most third-world countries eat grasshoppers for nourishment and protein. Grasshoppers can also be purchased online if this article has left you feeling hungry.
