Grasshopper on rose in London, England, july 2024. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Finding A UK Grasshopper
You can see the green, grasshopper on the pink rose in my photo above. I saw this green semi see-through insect on a rose I had picked from the back garden (Americans say yard) in England.
I took a photo. I was glad I did. By the time I had called others to see it, it had leaped into the air and flown off.
It vanished. I thought I had lost it.
The Grasshopper Hops Off
Then sometody called that they had seen it on the floor. We knelt down to look at it. It scuttled off.
Then, to our surprise it leaped again, about knee high, a couple of feet. It landed on the floor, and disappeared under a table.
Catching the Grasshopper
I called my husband to bring a glass to catch it. I didn't move. I kept watching it.
He trapped it. He released it outdoors.
Friend or Foe\
Afterwards, I wondered if we had done the right thing. Was it a pest? Locusts are pests.. But first, what was it?
What Was It
It was green. Green like grass. It hopped. It must be a grasshopper.
But, are a grasshaopper and cricket the same thing?.\As far apart as London in England and Singapore!
Singapore Crickets
I recalled that in Singapore where I lived most of the year for more than twenty years, you could hear the crickets every night, making a racket after sunset and when I went to bed around 11 p to midnight.. Although I never saw them.
I had heard crickets chirping every night in Singapore for years, but had never seen one.
Elaewhere in Asia, they are a poular food.
Later, after we released the grasshopper, I started to research. Was a cricket the same as a grasshaopper?
Yes, although there are many sub catergories, sizes and colours. A bit like dogs or cats.
Life Span
They live only two to three months . The adults die off in winter. Next year a new generation is born from eggs which lay hidden all winter.Like many insects.
Locusts
Swarms occur when there are too many in one place and they move on looking for more food.
Friend or foe, protector of plants or poests? A few million of them, locusts, on a cash crop, is not good news. But one lone, grasshopper, probably, won't do much harm.
DNA isn't everything. The environment can change behavious. Over crowding turns grasshoppers into locusts.
Useful Websites
Wikipedia Grasshopper
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/2x5eOBJ37iE/#:~:text=But%20if%20they%20are%20crowded,loop%20that%20leads%20to%20locusts.
G
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