View source for Grasshopper

{{Short description|Common name for a group of insects}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Induan]]–[[Holocene]], {{Fossil_range|250|0}}
| image = American Bird Grasshopper.jpg
| image_caption = American grasshopper (''[[Schistocerca americana]]'')
| display_parents = 2
| taxon = Acridomorpha
| authority = MacLeay, 1821
| subdivision_ranks = Superfamilies
| subdivision = 
* [[Acridoidea]]
* [[Eumastacoidea]]
* [[Pneumoroidea]]
* [[Proscopioidea]]
* [[Pyrgomorphoidea]]
* [[Tanaoceroidea]]
* [[Trigonopterygoidea]]
}}

'''Grasshoppers''' are a group of [[insect]]s belonging to the [[suborder]] [[Caelifera]]. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the [[early Triassic]] around 250 million years ago.

Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which allow them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. Their front legs are shorter and used for grasping food. As [[hemimetabolous]] insects, they do not undergo [[complete metamorphosis]]; they hatch from an egg into a [[Nymph (biology)|nymph]] or "hopper" which undergoes five [[moult]]s, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=grasshopper {{!}} Description, Features, & Species |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/grasshopper-insect |access-date=29 September 2021 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax; while its sense of vision is in the compound eyes, a change in light intensity is perceived in the simple eyes (ocelli). At high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, some grasshopper species can change colour and behavior and form swarms. Under these circumstances, they are known as [[locust]]s.

Grasshoppers are plant-eaters, with a few species at times becoming serious [[pest (organism)|pest]]s of cereals, vegetables and pasture, especially when they swarm in the millions as locusts and destroy crops over wide areas. They protect themselves from [[predator]]s by [[camouflage]]; when detected, many species attempt to [[Deimatic behaviour|startle]] the predator with a brilliantly coloured wing flash while jumping and (if adult) launching themselves into the air, usually flying for only a short distance. Other species such as the [[rainbow grasshopper]] have [[warning coloration]] which deters predators. Grasshoppers are affected by parasites and various diseases, and many predatory creatures feed on both nymphs and adults. The eggs are subject to attack by [[parasitoid]]s and predators. Grasshoppers are diurnal insects, meaning they are most active during the day time.

Grasshoppers have had a long relationship with humans. Swarms of locusts can have devastating effects and cause famine, having done so since [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Biblical times]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nuwer |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Nuwer |date=6 March 2013 |title=A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in Time for Passover |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-plague-of-locusts-descends-upon-the-holy-land-just-in-time-for-passover-779476/ |website=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |language=en |access-date=2021-05-06}}</ref> Even in smaller numbers, the insects can be serious pests. They are used as food in countries such as Mexico and Indonesia. They feature in art, symbolism and literature. The study of grasshopper species is called [[acridology]].

==Phylogeny==
Grasshoppers belong to the suborder Caelifera. Although "grasshopper" has been used as a common name for the suborder in general,<ref>{{cite web|title=Caelifera:Grasshoppers and Locusts|url=http://eol.org/pages/2634375/overview|publisher=Encyclopedia of Life|access-date=4 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411231334/http://eol.org/pages/2634375/overview|archive-date=11 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Suborder Caelifera – Grasshoppers|publisher=BugGuide|url=http://bugguide.net/node/view/16133|access-date=4 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804214918/http://bugguide.net/node/view/16133|archive-date=4 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Orthoptera: Crickets and grasshoppers|publisher=Orthoptera.org.uk|url=https://www.orthoptera.org.uk/about_orthoptera|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805015247/https://www.orthoptera.org.uk/about_orthoptera|archive-date=5 August 2017}}</ref> modern sources restrict it to the more "evolved" [[Family (biology)|families]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grimaldi |first1=David |last2=Engel |first2=Michael, S. |year=2005 |title=Evolution of the Insects |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutioninsects00grim_110 |url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/evolutioninsects00grim_110/page/n224 210] |isbn=978-0-521-82149-0}}</ref> They may be placed in the infraorder [[Acrididea]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=657454#null|title=ITIS Standard Report Page: Acrididea|website=www.itis.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802204613/https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=657454#null|archive-date=2 August 2017}}</ref> and have been referred to as "short-horned grasshoppers" in older texts<ref name = "Imms">Imms A.D., rev. Richards O.W. & Davies R.G. (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 pp.</ref> to distinguish them from the also-obsolete term "long-horned grasshoppers" (now [[bush-cricket]]s or katydids) with their much longer [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]]. The [[phylogeny]] of the Caelifera, based on mitochondrial [[ribosomal RNA]] of thirty-two taxa in six out of seven superfamilies, is shown as a [[cladogram]]. The [[Ensifera]] (crickets, ''etc.''), Caelifera and all the superfamilies of grasshoppers except "[[Pamphagidae|Pamphagoidea]]" appear to be [[monophyletic]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Flook |first1=P.K. |last2=Rowell |first2=C.H.F. |title=The Phylogeny of the Caelifera (Insecta, Orthoptera) as Deduced from mtrRNA Gene Sequences |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=1997 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=89–103 |doi=10.1006/mpev.1997.0412 |pmid=9242597|bibcode=1997MolPE...8...89F }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hong-Li|last2=Huang |first2=Yuan|last3=Lin |first3=Li-Liang |last4=Wang |first4=Xiao-Yang |last5=Zheng|first5=Zhe-Min |title=The phylogeny of the Orthoptera (Insecta) as deduced from mitogenomic gene sequences |journal=Zoological Studies |date=2013 |volume=52 |page=37 |doi=10.1186/1810-522X-52-37|doi-access=free }}</ref>

{{clade| style=font-size:85%;line-height:85%
|label1=[[Orthoptera]]
|1={{clade
    |label1=[[Ensifera]] (crickets, katydids, etc.)
    |1=[6 superfamilies] [[File:Gryllus campestris MHNT.jpg|35px]]
    |label2=Caelifera
    |2={{clade
        |1=[[Tridactyloidea]] [[File:Ripipteryx mopana.jpg|50px]]
        |2={{clade
            |1=[[Tetrigoidea]] [[File:Tetrix bipunctata01 crop.jpg|50px]]
            |2={{clade
                |1=[[Eumastacoidea]] [[File:Genera Insectorum - Eumastax vittata.jpg|80px]] 
                |2={{clade
                   |1=[[Proscopioidea]] [[File:Pseudoproscopia spec. - Tiergarten Schönbrunn crop.jpg|50px]]
                   |2={{clade
                      |1=[[Pneumoroidea]] [[File:Bladder Grasshopper (Bullacris intermedia) (30068047440).jpg|50px]]
                      |2={{clade
                          |1=[[Pyrgomorphoidea]] [[File:Pyrgomorphidae - Phymateus aegrotus.JPG|50px]] 
                          |2=[[Acridoidea]] [[File:Annualreportofag1119021903univ 0052AA2 Figure 1.jpg|50px]]
                         }}
                      }}
                   }}
               }}
          }}
       }}
   }}
}}

[[File:Fossil grasshoppers - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC00013.JPG|thumb|Fossil grasshoppers at the Royal Ontario Museum]]
In evolutionary terms, the split between the Caelifera and the Ensifera is no more recent than the [[Permo-Triassic boundary]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Zeuner, F.E. |date=1939 |title=Fossil Orthoptera Ensifera |publisher=British Museum Natural History |oclc=1514958}}</ref> the earliest insects that are certainly Caeliferans are in the extinct families Locustopseidae and Locustavidae from the early Triassic, roughly 250 million years ago. The group diversified during the Triassic and have remained important plant-eaters from that time to now. The first modern families such as the Eumastacidae, Tetrigidae and Tridactylidae appeared in the [[Cretaceous]], though some insects that might belong to the last two of these groups are found in the [[early Jurassic]].<ref name=GrimaldiEngel2005>{{cite book |author1=Grimaldi, David |author2=Engel, Michael S. |title=Evolution of the Insects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ql6Jl6wKb88C&pg=PA210 |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82149-0 |page=210 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023307/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ql6Jl6wKb88C&pg=PA210 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Béthoux |first1=Oliver |last2=Ross |first2=A.J. |title=Mesacridites Riek, 1954 (Middle Triassic; Australia) transferred from Protorthoptera to Orthoptera: Locustavidae |journal=Journal of Paleontology |date=2005|volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=607–610 |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079<0607:mrmatf>2.0.co;2|bibcode=2005JPal...79..607B |s2cid=131591210 }}</ref> Morphological classification is difficult because many taxa have converged towards a common habitat type; recent taxonomists have concentrated on the internal genitalia, especially those of the male. This information is not available from fossil specimens, and the palaeontological taxonomy is founded principally on the venation of the hindwings.<ref name=TOLweb/>

The Caelifera includes some 2,400 valid genera and about 11,000 known species. Many undescribed species probably exist, especially in [[tropical wet forest]]s. The Caelifera have a predominantly tropical distribution with fewer species known from temperate zones, but most of the superfamilies have representatives worldwide. They are almost exclusively herbivorous and are probably the oldest living group of chewing herbivorous insects.<ref name=TOLweb>{{cite web |url=http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Caelifera |title=Caelifera: Shorthorned Grasshoppers, Locusts and Relatives |author1=Rowell, Hugh |author2=Flook, Paul |year=2001 |work=Tree of Life web project |access-date=3 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408064407/http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Caelifera |archive-date=8 April 2015 }}</ref>

The most diverse superfamily is the [[Acridoidea]], with around 8,000 species. The two main families in this are the Acrididae (grasshoppers and locusts) with a worldwide distribution, and the [[Romaleidae]] (lubber grasshoppers), found chiefly in the New World. The Ommexechidae and Tristiridae are South American, and the Lentulidae, Lithidiidae and Pamphagidae are mainly African. The Pauliniids are nocturnal and can swim or skate on water, and the Lentulids are wingless.<ref name=GrimaldiEngel2005/> Pneumoridae are native to Africa, particularly southern Africa, and are distinguished by the inflated abdomens of the males.<ref name="Donelson">{{cite journal |last1=Donelson |first1=Nathan C. |last2=van Staaden |first2=Moira J. |year=2005 |title=Alternate tactics in male bladder grasshoppers Bullacris membracioides (Orthoptera: Pneumoridae) |journal=Behaviour |volume=142 |issue=6 |pages=761–778 |doi=10.1163/1568539054729088 |url=http://caspar.bgsu.edu/~mooi/Home/Publications_files/MvS_Behav05.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220162119/http://caspar.bgsu.edu/~mooi/Home/Publications_files/MvS_Behav05.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2016 }}</ref>

==Characteristics==
Grasshoppers have the typical insect body plan of head, [[Thorax (insect anatomy)|thorax]], and [[Abdomen#Invertebrates|abdomen]]. The head is held vertically at an angle to the body, with the mouth at the bottom. The head bears a large pair of [[compound eye]]s which give all-round vision, three simple eyes which can detect light and dark, and a pair of thread-like [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] that are sensitive to touch and smell. The downward-directed mouthparts are modified for chewing and there are two sensory [[pedipalp|palp]]s in front of the [[Mandible (insect mouthpart)|jaws]].<ref name=Pfadt1to8>Pfadt, 1994. pp. 1–8</ref>

The thorax and abdomen are segmented and have a rigid [[cuticle]] made up of overlapping plates composed of [[chitin]]. The three fused thoracic segments bear three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. The forewings, known as [[tegmina]], are narrow and leathery while the hindwings are large and membranous, the veins providing strength. The legs are terminated by claws for gripping. The hind leg is particularly powerful. The legs of these species are so powerful that they can jump quite a long distance. they also use this to flee from danger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Fascinating Facts About Grasshoppers |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-grasshoppers-1968334 |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref> The femur is robust and has several ridges where different surfaces join and the inner ridges bear [[stridulatory]] pegs in some species. The posterior edge of the tibia bears a double row of spines and there are a pair of articulated spurs near its lower end. The interior of the thorax houses the muscles that control the wings and legs.<ref name=Pfadt1to8/>

[[File:Two grasshoppers utah.jpg|thumb|Two [[differential grasshopper]]s, with visible spines along the [[tibia]] of the hind legs]]

[[File:Heupferd fg01.jpg|thumb|[[Ensifera]], like this great green [[bush-cricket]] ''[[Tettigonia viridissima]]'', somewhat resemble grasshoppers but have over 20 segments in their [[antenna (biology)|antennae]] and different [[ovipositor]]s.]]
The abdomen has eleven segments, the first of which is fused to the thorax and contains the [[tympanal organ]] and hearing system. Segments two to eight are ring-shaped and joined by flexible membranes. Segments nine to eleven are reduced in size; segment nine bears a pair of [[cercus|cerci]] and segments ten and eleven have the reproductive organs. Female grasshoppers are normally [[sexual dimorphism|larger than males]], with short ovipositors.<ref name=Pfadt1to8/> The name of the suborder "Caelifera" comes from the Latin and means ''chisel-bearing'', referring to the shape of the ovipositor.<ref name="Himmelman2011">{{cite book| last=Himmelman| first=John| title=Cricket Radio| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qp7Q4Vn9l-oC&pg=PA45| year=2011| publisher=Harvard University Press| isbn=978-0-674-06102-6| page=45| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023307/https://books.google.com/books?id=qp7Q4Vn9l-oC&pg=PA45| archive-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>

The grasshopper's auditory organs are located on its abdomen, rather than on its head. These organs consist of a pair of membranes, each positioned on either side of the first abdominal segment and tucked under the wings. Known as tympanal organs, these simple eardrums vibrate in response to sound waves, enabling the grasshopper to hear the songs of other grasshoppers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Fascinating Facts About Grasshoppers |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-grasshoppers-1968334 |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref>

Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing a row of pegs on the hind legs against the edges of the forewings (stridulation). These sounds are produced mainly by males to attract females, though in some species the females also stridulate.<ref name=AM>{{cite web |title=Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids and locusts: Order Orthoptera |url=https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/grasshoppers-crickets-katydids-and-locusts-order-orthoptera/ |publisher=Australian Museum |access-date=6 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418022639/http://australianmuseum.net.au/grasshoppers-crickets-katydids-and-locusts-order-orthoptera |archive-date=18 April 2015 }}</ref>

Grasshoppers may be confused with crickets, but they differ in many aspects; these include the number of segments in their antennae and the structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympanal organ and the methods by which sound is produced.<ref name=Guthrie>{{cite book |author=Guthrie, David Maltby |title=Aims and Methods in Neuroethology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkW8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA106 |year=1987 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-2320-0 |page=106 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=MkW8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA106 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> Ensiferans have antennae that can be much longer than the body and have at least 20–24 segments, while caeliferans have fewer segments in their shorter, stouter antennae.<ref name=AM/>

==Biology==

===Diet and digestion===
[[File:Grasshopper mouth anatomy.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Structure of mouthparts]]
{{further|Digestive system of insects}}

Most grasshoppers are [[polyphagous]], eating vegetation from multiple plant sources,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_grasshopper_new.php |title=Grasshoppers |author=Davidowitz, Goggy |publisher=Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum |access-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507144753/http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_grasshopper_new.php |archive-date=7 May 2015 }}</ref> but some are [[omnivorous]] and also eat animal tissue and animal faeces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=Kevin M. |last2=Woods |first2=Stephen A. |last3=Streett |first3=Douglas A. |title=Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Foraging on Grasshopper Feces: Observational and Rubidium-Labeling Studies |journal=Environmental Entomology |date=1 December 1997 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=1224–1231 |doi=10.1093/ee/26.6.1224 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/26/6/1224/2464391|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In general their preference is for grasses, including many [[cereal]]s grown as crops.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Foraging on Grasshopper Feces: Observational and Rubidium-Labeling Studies |author1=O'Neill, Kevin M. |author2=Woods, Stephen A. |author3=Streett, Douglas A. |journal= Environmental Entomology |volume=26 |issue=6 |year=1997 |pages=1224–1231 |doi=10.1093/ee/26.6.1224}}</ref> The digestive system is typical of insects, with Malpighian tubules discharging into the midgut. Carbohydrates are digested mainly in the crop, while proteins are digested in the ceca of the midgut. Saliva is abundant but largely free of enzymes, helping to move food and Malpighian secretions along the gut. Some grasshoppers possess [[cellulase]], which by softening plant cell walls makes plant cell contents accessible to other digestive enzymes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Lawrence Irwin |title=Insect Molecular Biology and Biochemistry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9iXwIC_l3cC&pg=PA399 |year=2012 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-384747-8 |page=399 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=H9iXwIC_l3cC&pg=PA399 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> Grasshoppers can also be [[cannibalism|cannibalistic]] when swarming.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=David A. |authorlink=David A. Sinclair |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1088652276 |title=Lifespan |date=2019 |others=Matthew D. LaPlante, Catherine Delphia |isbn=978-1-5011-9197-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1088652276 |page=99}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-05-08 |title=March of the locusts – individuals start moving to avoid cannibals |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/march-of-the-locusts-individuals-start-moving-to-avoid-cannibals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521123320/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/march-of-the-locusts-individuals-start-moving-to-avoid-cannibals |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 May 2021 |first=Ed |last=Yong |website=nationalgeographic.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=From solo to sociable—how locusts try to avoid cannibalism |url=https://phys.org/news/2012-08-solo-sociablehow-locusts-cannibalism.html |date=2012-08-29 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Grasshopper eating leaf.jpg|thumb|none|alt=A differential grasshopper eating the leaf of a climbing pea plant|A [[differential grasshopper]] eating the leaf of a [[pea|climbing pea]] plant. [[Cellulase]] in its [[Gastrointestinal tract|digestive tract]] allows it to digest [[cellulose]] in the [[cell wall]]s of plants.]]

===Sensory organs===
[[File:Anacridium aegyptium - 01.jpg|thumb|Frontal view of Egyptian locust (''[[Anacridium aegyptium]]'') showing the [[compound eye]]s, tiny [[Simple eye in invertebrates|ocelli]] and numerous [[seta]]e]]
Grasshoppers have a typical insect nervous system, and have an extensive set of external sense organs. On the side of the head are a pair of large [[compound eyes]] which give a broad field of vision and can detect movement, shape, colour and distance. There are also three simple eyes ([[ocelli]]) on the forehead which can detect light intensity, a pair of antennae containing olfactory (smell) and touch receptors, and mouthparts containing gustatory (taste) receptors.<ref name=Ruppert>{{cite book |title=Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition |last1=Ruppert |first1=Edward E. |last2=Fox |first2=Richard, S. |last3=Barnes |first3=Robert D. |year=2004 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-81-315-0104-7 |pages=735–737 }}</ref> At the front end of the abdomen there is a pair of tympanal organs for sound reception. There are numerous fine hairs ([[setae]]) covering the whole body that act as mechanoreceptors (touch and wind sensors), and these are most dense on the antennae, the [[palp]]s (part of the mouth), and on the cerci at the tip of the abdomen.<ref name=Chapman>Chapman, 2013. pp. 745–755</ref> There are special receptors ([[campaniform sensilla]]e) embedded in the cuticle of the legs that sense pressure and cuticle distortion.<ref>Chapman, 2013. p. 163</ref> There are internal "chordotonal" sense organs specialized to detect position and movement about the joints of the exoskeleton. The receptors convey information to the central nervous system through sensory neurons, and most of these have their cell bodies located in the periphery near the receptor site itself.<ref name=Chapman/>

===Circulation and respiration===
{{further|Insect morphology#Circulatory system|Respiratory system of insects}}
Like other insects, grasshoppers have an [[open circulatory system]] and their body cavities are filled with [[haemolymph]]. A heart-like structure in the upper part of the abdomen pumps the fluid to the head from where it percolates past the tissues and organs on its way back to the abdomen. This system circulates nutrients throughout the body and carries [[metabolic waste]]s to be excreted into the gut. Other functions of the haemolymph include wound healing, heat transfer and the provision of hydrostatic pressure, but the circulatory system is not involved in gaseous exchange.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/tutorials/internal_anatomy/circulatory.html |title=Circulatory system |author=Meyer, John R. |date=8 April 2009 |work=General Entomology |publisher=NC State University |access-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103003933/https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/tutorials/internal_anatomy/circulatory.html |archive-date=3 January 2017 }}</ref> Respiration is performed using [[Trachea#Invertebrates|trachea]]e, air-filled tubes, which open at the surfaces of the thorax and abdomen through pairs of valved [[Spiracle (arthropods)|spiracle]]s. Larger insects may need to actively ventilate their bodies by opening some spiracles while others remain closed, using abdominal muscles to expand and contract the body and pump air through the system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/tutorials/internal_anatomy/respiratory.html |title=Insect physiology: Respiratory system |author=Meyer, John R. |date=1 November 2006 |work=General Entomology |publisher=NC State University |access-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103003044/https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/tutorials/internal_anatomy/respiratory.html |archive-date=3 January 2017 }}</ref>

=== Jumping ===

Grasshoppers jump by extending their large back legs and pushing against the substrate (the ground, a twig, a blade of grass or whatever else they are standing on); the reaction force propels them into the air.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heitler |first1=W.J. |title=How Grasshoppers Jump |url=http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/ |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=3 April 2015 |date=January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123105/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref> A large grasshopper, such as a locust, can jump about a metre (20 body lengths<!--5 cm body=1/20 m-->) without using its wings; the acceleration peaks at about 20&nbsp;g.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heitler |first1=W.J. |title=Performance |url=http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/perform.htm |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=13 April 2015 |date=January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319133858/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/perform.htm |archive-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref>

They jump for several reasons; to escape from a predator, to launch themselves into flight, or simply to move from place to place. For the escape jump in particular there is strong selective pressure to maximize take-off velocity, since this determines the range. This means that the legs must thrust against the ground with both high force and a high velocity of movement. A fundamental property of [[muscle contraction#Force-length and force-velocity relationships|muscle]] is that it cannot contract with high force and high velocity at the same time. Grasshoppers overcome this by using a [[catapult]] mechanism to amplify the [[Power (physics)#Mechanical power|mechanical power]] produced by their muscles.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heitler |first1=W.J. |title=Energy and Power |url=http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/power.htm |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=5 May 2015 |date=January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118101313/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/power.htm |archive-date=18 November 2014 }}</ref>

The jump is a three-stage process.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1007/BF00219055|pmid=7707268| title = Motor patterns during kicking movements in the locust| journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology A| volume = 176| issue = 3 |pages=289–305| year=1995| last1=Burrows | first1 = M.|s2cid=21759140}}</ref> First, the grasshopper fully flexes the lower part of the leg (tibia) against the upper part (femur) by activating the flexor tibiae muscle (the back legs of the grasshopper in the top photograph are in this preparatory position). Second, there is a period of co-contraction in which force builds up in the large, [[Pennate muscle|pennate]] extensor tibiae muscle, but the tibia is kept flexed by the simultaneous contraction of the flexor tibiae muscle. The extensor muscle is much stronger than the flexor muscle, but the latter is aided by specialisations in the joint that give it a large effective mechanical advantage over the former when the tibia is fully flexed.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Heitler, W.J. |year= 1977 |title= The locust jump III. Structural specialisations of the metathoracic tibiae |journal= Journal of Experimental Biology |volume= 67 |pages= 29–36 |doi= 10.1242/jeb.67.1.29 |url= http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/67/1/29.full.pdf |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161019094114/http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/67/1/29.full.pdf |archive-date= 19 October 2016 }}</ref> Co-contraction can last for up to half a second, and during this period the extensor muscle shortens and stores elastic strain energy by distorting stiff cuticular structures in the leg.<ref>{{Cite journal | pmid=1159370 | year=1975 | last1=Bennet-Clark | first1=H.C. | title=The energetics of the jump of the locust ''Schistocerca gregaria'' | journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume=63 | issue=1 | pages=53–83 | doi=10.1242/jeb.63.1.53 | url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/63/1/53.1.long | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103003849/http://jeb.biologists.org/content/63/1/53.1.long | archive-date=3 January 2017 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> The extensor muscle contraction is quite slow (almost isometric), which allows it to develop high force (up to 14&nbsp;N in the desert locust), but because it is slow only low power is needed. The third stage of the jump is the trigger relaxation of the flexor muscle, which releases the tibia from the flexed position. The subsequent rapid tibial extension is driven mainly by the relaxation of the elastic structures, rather than by further shortening of the extensor muscle. In this way the stiff cuticle acts like the elastic of a [[catapult]], or the bow of a bow-and-arrow. Energy is put into the store at low power by slow but strong muscle contraction, and retrieved from the store at high power by rapid relaxation of the mechanical elastic structures.<ref>{{cite book |author=Biewener, Andrew A. |title=Animal Locomotion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMaN9pk8QJAC&pg=PA172 |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-850022-3 |pages=172–175 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023307/https://books.google.com/books?id=yMaN9pk8QJAC&pg=PA172 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref>

===Stridulation===
{{Listen|filename=Grasshoppers.ogg|title=Grasshopper stridulation|description=Several unidentified grasshoppers stridulating}}
Male grasshoppers spend much of the day [[stridulation|stridulating]], singing more actively under optimal conditions and being more subdued when conditions are adverse; females also stridulate, but their efforts are insignificant when compared to the males. Late-stage male nymphs can sometimes be seen making stridulatory movements, although they lack the equipment to make sounds, demonstrating the importance of this behavioural trait. The songs are a means of communication; the male stridulation seems to express reproductive maturity, the desire for social cohesion and individual well-being. Social cohesion becomes necessary among grasshoppers because of their ability to jump or fly large distances, and the song can serve to limit dispersal and guide others to favourable habitat. The generalised song can vary in phraseology and intensity, and is modified in the presence of a rival male, and changes again to a courtship song when a female is nearby.<ref name=AES>{{cite journal |author=Brangham, A.N. |year=1960 |title=Communication among social insects |journal=Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society |volume=19 |pages=66–68 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofamateu1920amat#page/n113/mode/2up }}</ref> In male grasshoppers of the family Pneumoridae, the enlarged abdomen amplifies stridulation.<ref name="Donelson"/>

===Life cycle===
[[File:Grasshoppermetasnodgrass.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|Six stages (instars) of development, from newly hatched nymph to fully winged adult]]
[[File:Two eastern Lubber grasshopers (Romalea microptera), mating.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Romalea microptera]]'' grasshoppers: female (larger) is laying eggs, with male in attendance.]]
In most grasshopper species, conflicts between males over females rarely escalate beyond ritualistic displays. Some exceptions include the chameleon grasshopper (''[[Kosciuscola|Kosciuscola tristis]]''), where males may fight on top of ovipositing females; engaging in leg grappling, biting, kicking and mounting.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Umbers, K. |author2=Tatarnic, N. |author3=Holwell, G. |author4=Herberstein, M. |year=2012|title=Ferocious Fighting between Male Grasshoppers |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=11 |page=e49600 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0049600 |doi-access=free |pmid=23166725 |pmc=3498212|bibcode=2012PLoSO...749600U }}</ref>

Female grasshoppers of the species ''[[Chorthippus biguttulus]]'' appear to be able to integrate information from male calling songs.<ref name = Clemens2014>Clemens J, Krämer S, Ronacher B. Asymmetrical integration of sensory information during mating decisions in grasshoppers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Nov 18;111(46):16562-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1412741111. Epub 2014 Nov 3. PMID: 25368152; PMCID: PMC4246278.</ref>  An unattractive song subunit far outweighs an attractive song subunit, and this asymmetrical integration is consistent with theories of [[sexual selection]] because it helps females avoid potentially costly interaction with unsuitable mating partners if the song belongs to another species or indicates a low-quality male.<ref name = Clemens2014/>

The newly emerged female grasshopper has a preoviposition period of a week or two while she increases in weight and her eggs mature. After mating, the female of most species digs a hole with her [[ovipositor]] and lays a batch of eggs in a pod in the ground near food plants, generally in the summer. After laying the eggs, she covers the hole with soil and litter.<ref name=Pfadt1to8/> Some, like the semi-aquatic ''[[Cornops aquaticum]]'', deposit the pod directly into plant tissue.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hill, M.P. |author2=Oberholzer, I.G. |year=2000 |title=Host specificity of the grasshopper, ''Cornops aquaticum'', a natural enemy of water hyacinth |journal=Proceedings of the X International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds |editor=Spencer, Neal R. |publisher=Montana State University |pages=349–356 |url=http://www.invasive.org/publications/xsymposium/proceed/05pg349.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220175939/http://www.invasive.org/publications/xsymposium/proceed/05pg349.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2016 }}</ref> The eggs in the pod are glued together with a froth in some species. After a few weeks of development, the eggs of most species in temperate climates go into [[diapause]], and pass the winter in this state. Diapause is broken by a sufficiently low ground temperature, with development resuming as soon as the ground warms above a certain threshold temperature. The embryos in a pod generally all hatch out within a few minutes of each other. They soon shed their membranes and their exoskeletons harden. These first [[instar]] nymphs can then jump away from predators.<ref name=UW>
Pfadt, 1994. pp. 11–16. [http://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/ghlcycle.htm Diagrams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110127/http://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/ghlcycle.htm |date=2 April 2015 }} 
</ref>

<!--[[File:Grasshopper moult 2015-08-04.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Abandoned moult]] no room for this at the moment-->
Grasshoppers undergo [[incomplete metamorphosis]]: they [[ecdysis|repeatedly moult]], each instar becoming larger and more like an adult, with the wing-buds increasing in size at each stage. The number of instars varies between species but is often six. After the final moult, the wings are inflated and become fully functional. The migratory grasshopper, ''[[Melanoplus sanguinipes]]'', spends about 25 to 30 days as a nymph, depending on sex and temperature, and lives for about 51 days as an adult.<ref name=UW/>

===Swarming===
{{main|Locust}}
[[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 7007 Plague locusts on the move.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Millions of [[Australian plague locust|plague locusts]] on the move in Australia]]

Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. Swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. Increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs causes an increase in levels of [[serotonin]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7858996.stm |work=BBC News |author=Morgan, James |title=Locust swarms 'high' on serotonin |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=31 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131010043157/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7858996.stm|archive-date = 10 October 2013}}</ref> This causes the grasshopper to change colour, feed more and breed faster. The transformation of a solitary individual into a swarming one is induced by several contacts per minute over a short period.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rogers, Stephen M. |author2=Matheson, Thomas |author3=Despland, Emma |author4=Dodgson, Timothy |author5=Burrows, Malcolm |author6=Simpson, Stephen J. |year=2003 |title=Mechanosensory-induced behavioral gregarization in the desert locust ''Schistocerca gregaria'' |journal=[[Journal of Experimental Biology]] |volume=206 |issue=22 |pages=3991–4002 |doi=10.1242/jeb.00648 |pmid=14555739 |s2cid=10665260 |url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/206/22/3991.full.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924005950/http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/206/22/3991.full.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2016 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Following this transformation, under suitable conditions dense nomadic bands of flightless nymphs known as "hoppers" can occur, producing [[pheromone]]s which attract the insects to each other. With several generations in a year, the locust population can build up from localised groups into vast accumulations of flying insects known as plagues, devouring all the vegetation they encounter. The [[Albert's swarm|largest recorded locust swarm]] was one formed by the now-extinct [[Rocky Mountain locust]] in 1875; the swarm was {{convert|1800|mi}} long and {{convert|110|mi}} wide,<ref>{{cite news |title=Looking Back at the Days of the Locust |author=Yoon, Carol Kaesuk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/23/science/looking-back-at-the-days-of-the-locust.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=23 April 2002 |access-date=31 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403092454/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/23/science/looking-back-at-the-days-of-the-locust.html |archive-date=3 April 2015 }}</ref> and one estimate puts the number of locusts involved at 3.5 trillion.<ref name=Lockwood>{{cite book|last=Lockwood |first=Jeffrey A. |title=Locust: the Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier |year=2004 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=0-7382-0894-9 |page=21 |edition=1st}}ffol</ref> An adult [[desert locust]] can eat about {{convert|2|g|1|abbr=on}} of plant material each day, so the billions of insects in a large swarm can be very destructive, stripping all the foliage from plants in an affected area and consuming stems, flowers, fruits, seeds and bark.<ref name=Capinera1181/>

==Predators, parasites, and pathogens==
[[File:Cottontop tamarin.JPG|thumb|right|[[Cottontop tamarin]] monkey eating a grasshopper]]
Grasshoppers have a wide range of [[predator]]s at different stages of their lives; eggs are eaten by [[bee-flies]], [[ground beetle]]s and [[blister beetle]]s; hoppers and adults are taken by other insects such as ants, [[robber flies]] and [[sphecid wasp]]s, by [[spider]]s, and by many birds and small mammals including dogs and cats.<ref name=Capinera1709>Capinera, 2008. pp. 1709–1710</ref>

The eggs and nymphs are under attack by [[parasitoid]]s including [[blow flies]], flesh flies, and [[tachinid flies]]. External parasites of adults and nymphs include mites.<ref name=Capinera1709/> Female grasshoppers parasitised by mites produce fewer eggs and thus have fewer offspring than unaffected individuals.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Branson, David H. |year= 2003 |title= Effects of a parasite mite on life-history variation in two grasshopper species |journal= Evolutionary Ecology Research |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=397–409 |issn= 1522-0613 }}</ref>

[[File:Unidentified Phlaeoba, near Godean Street, Yogyakarta, 2015-03-17.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Grasshopper with parasitic [[mite]]s]]
The [[Mermis nigrescens|grasshopper nematode]] (''Mermis nigrescens'') is a long slender worm that infects grasshoppers, living in the insects' [[Circulatory system|hemocoel]]. Adult worms lay eggs on plants and the host becomes infected when the foliage is eaten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/misc/mermis_nigrescens.htm |title=Grasshopper nematode: ''Mermis nigrescens'' |author=Capinera, John |year=2014 |work=Featured Creatures |publisher=IFAS, University of Florida |access-date=28 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125638/http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/misc/mermis_nigrescens.htm |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> ''[[Spinochordodes tellinii]]'' and ''[[Paragordius tricuspidatus]]'' are parasitic worms that infect grasshoppers and alter the behaviour of their hosts. When the worms are sufficiently developed, the grasshopper is persuaded to leap into a nearby body of water where it drowns, thus enabling the parasite to continue with the next stage of its [[Biological life cycle|life cycle]], which takes place in water.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Do hairworms (Nematomorpha) manipulate the water seeking behaviour of their terrestrial hosts? |author1=Thomas, F. |author2=Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. |author3=Martin, G. |author4=Manu, C. |author5=Durand, P. Renaud, F. |date=May 2002 |journal=[[Journal of Evolutionary Biology]] |doi-access=free |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=356–361 |doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00410.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Schmidt-Rhaesa, Andreas |author2=Biron, David G. |author3=Joly, Cécile |author4=Thomas, Frédéric |title=Host–parasite relations and seasonal occurrence of ''Paragordius tricuspidatus'' and ''Spinochordodes tellinii'' (Nematomorpha) in Southern France |journal=[[Zoologischer Anzeiger]] |volume=244 |issue=1 |year=2005 |pages=51–57 |doi=10.1016/j.jcz.2005.04.002|bibcode=2005ZooAn.244...51S |url=https://hal.science/hal-02308189 }}</ref>

[[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 1367 Locusts attacked by the fungus Metarhizium.jpg|thumb|right|[[Locust]]s killed by the naturally occurring fungus, ''[[Metarhizium]]'', an environmentally friendly means of biological control. [[CSIRO]], 2005<ref>{{cite web|title=CSIRO ScienceImage 1367 Locusts attacked by the fungus Metarhizium|url=http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/image/1367|publisher=CSIRO|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172047/http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/image/1367|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>]]
Grasshoppers are affected by diseases caused by [[bacteria]], [[virus]]es, [[Fungus|fungi]] and [[protozoa]]. The bacteria ''[[Serratia marcescens]]'' and ''[[Pseudomonas aeruginosa]]'' have both been implicated in causing disease in grasshoppers, as has the [[entomopathogenic fungus]] ''[[Beauveria bassiana]]''. This widespread fungus has been used to control various pest insects around the world, but although it infects grasshoppers, the infection is not usually lethal because basking in the sun has the result of raising the insects' temperature above a threshold tolerated by the fungus.<ref name=Capinera>Capinera, 2008. pp. 1229–1230</ref> The fungal [[pathogen]] ''[[Entomophaga grylli]]'' is able to influence the behaviour of its grasshopper host, causing it to climb to the top of a plant and cling to the stem as it dies. This ensures wide dispersal of the fungal spores liberated from the corpse.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Valovage, W.D. |author2=Nelson, D.R. |year=1990 |title=Host Range and Recorded Distribution of ''Entomophaga grylli'' (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales), a Fungal Pathogen of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae), in North Dakota |journal=Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=454–458|jstor=25085205 }}</ref>

The fungal pathogen ''[[Metarhizium acridum]]'' is found in Africa, Australia and Brazil where it has caused [[epizootic]]s in grasshoppers. It is being investigated for possible use as a microbial insecticide for locust control.<ref name=Capinera/> The [[microsporidia]]n fungus ''[[Nosema locustae]]'', once considered to be a protozoan, can be lethal to grasshoppers. It has to be consumed by mouth and is the basis for a bait-based commercial microbial pesticide. Various other microsporidians and protozoans are found in the gut.<ref name=Capinera/>

===Anti-predator defences===
{{further|Anti-predator adaptation}}

Grasshoppers exemplify a range of [[anti-predator adaptation]]s, enabling them to avoid detection, to escape if detected, and in some cases to avoid being eaten if captured. Grasshoppers are often [[camouflage]]d to avoid detection by predators that hunt by sight; some species can change their coloration to suit their surroundings.<ref>Cott, pp. 25–26</ref>

Several species such as the hooded leaf grasshopper ''[[Phyllochoreia|Phyllochoreia ramakrishnai]]'' (Eumastacoidea) are detailed [[mimicry|mimics]] of leaves. Stick grasshoppers (Proscopiidae) mimic wooden sticks in form and coloration.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hogue, C.L.|year=1993|title=Latin American Insects and Entomology|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_3CTf8bnlndwC|publisher=University of California Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_3CTf8bnlndwC/page/n178 167]|isbn=978-0520078499}}</ref> Grasshoppers often have [[deimatic]] patterns on their wings, giving a sudden flash of bright colours that may startle predators long enough to give time to escape in a combination of jump and flight.<ref name=Cott378>Cott, p. 378</ref>

Some species are genuinely [[aposematic]], having both bright warning coloration and sufficient toxicity to dissuade predators. ''[[Dictyophorus productus]]'' (Pyrgomorphidae) is a "heavy, bloated, sluggish insect" that makes no attempt to hide; it has a bright red abdomen. A ''[[Cercopithecus]]'' monkey that ate other grasshoppers refused to eat the species.<ref>Cott, p. 291</ref> Another species, the rainbow or painted grasshopper of Arizona, ''[[Dactylotum bicolor]]'' (Acridoidea), has been shown by experiment with a natural predator, the [[little striped whiptail]] lizard, to be aposematic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGovern |first1=George M. |last2=Mitchell |first2=Joseph C. |last3=Knisley |first3=C. Barry |title=Field Experiments on Prey Selection by the Whiptail Lizard, Cnemidophorus inornatus, in Arizona |journal=Journal of Herpetology |date=1984 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=347–349 |jstor=1564093 |doi=10.2307/1564093}}</ref>

<gallery mode="nolines" widths="150px">

Atractomorpha lata, Burdwan, West Bengal, India 27 10 2012.jpg|Gaudy grasshopper, ''[[Atractomorpha (grasshopper)|Atractomorpha lata]]'', evades predators with [[camouflage]].
Titanacris Albipes Vol.jpg|Lubber grasshopper, ''[[Titanacris albipes]]'', has [[deimatic]]ally coloured wings, used to startle predators.
LeafGrasshopper.jpg|Leaf grasshopper, ''[[Phyllochoreia|Phyllochoreia ramakrishnai]]'', [[mimicry|mimics]] a green leaf.
Dactylotum bicolor.jpg|Painted grasshopper, ''[[Dactylotum bicolor]]'', deters predators with [[warning coloration]].
Aularches miliaris at Mangunan Orchard, Dlingo, Bantul, Yogyakarta 07.jpg|Spotted grasshopper, ''[[Aularches miliaris]]'', defends itself with toxic foam and warning colours.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hingston, R.W.G. | year=1927 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2311.1927.tb00060.x |title=The liquid-squirting habit of oriental grasshoppers| journal=Transactions of the Entomological Society of London |volume=75 |pages=65–69}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Relationship with humans==
[[File:Grasshopper detail in Rachel Ruysch Flowers in a Vase c 1685.jpg|thumb|Detail of grasshopper on table in [[Rachel Ruysch]]'s painting ''Flowers in a Vase'', c. 1685. National Gallery, London]]
<!--[[File:Balthasar van der Ast - Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects - WGA1042.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Balthasar van der Ast]]'s oil painting ''Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects'', c. 1630]]-->
<!--[[File:Akragas, tetradracma, 410 ac. ca.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|Ancient Greek [[tetradrachm]] coin, 410 BC, with grasshopper at right]]-->

===In art and media===
Grasshoppers are occasionally depicted in artworks, such as the [[Dutch Golden Age]] painter [[Balthasar van der Ast]]'s [[still life]] oil painting, ''Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects'', c. 1630, now in the [[National Gallery, London]], though the insect may be a bush-cricket.<ref>{{cite web|title=Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects|url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/balthasar-van-der-ast-flowers-in-a-vase-with-shells-and-insects|publisher=The National Gallery|access-date=31 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092300/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/balthasar-van-der-ast-flowers-in-a-vase-with-shells-and-insects|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

Another orthopteran is found in [[Rachel Ruysch]]'s still life ''Flowers in a Vase'', c. 1685. The seemingly static scene is animated by a "grasshopper on the table that looks about ready to spring", according to the gallery curator Betsy Wieseman, with other invertebrates including a spider, an ant, and two caterpillars.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flowers in a Vase |url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rachel-ruysch-flowers-in-a-vase |publisher=The National Gallery |access-date=31 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124951/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rachel-ruysch-flowers-in-a-vase |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The National Gallery Podcast: Episode Nineteen |url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcasts/the-national-gallery-podcast-episode-nineteen |publisher=The National Gallery |access-date=31 March 2015 |date=May 2008 |quote=Betsy Wieseman: Well, there are two caterpillars that I can see. I particularly like the one right in the foreground that's just dangling from his thread and looking to land somewhere. It's this wonderful little suggestion of movement. There's a grasshopper on the table that looks about ready to spring to the other side and then nestled up between the rose and the peony is a wonderful spider and an ant on the petals of the rose. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103240/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcasts/the-national-gallery-podcast-episode-nineteen |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref>

Grasshoppers are also featured in cinema. The 1957 film ''[[Beginning of the End (film)|Beginning of the End]]'' portrayed giant grasshoppers attacking [[Chicago]].<ref name="Senn2007">{{cite book |author=Senn, Bryan |title=A Year of Fear: A Day-by-Day Guide to 366 Horror Films |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJ6vBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |year=2007 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-3196-0 |page=109 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=WJ6vBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> In the 1998 [[Disney]]/[[Pixar]] animated film ''[[A Bug's Life]]'', the antagonists are a gang of grasshoppers, with their leader Hopper serving as the main villain.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parihar |first1=Parth |title=A Bug's Life: Colonial Allegory |url=https://princetonbuffer.princeton.edu/2014/01/04/a-bugs-life-colonial-allegory/ |publisher=Princeton Buffer |access-date=30 March 2015 |date=4 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402175749/https://princetonbuffer.princeton.edu/2014/01/04/a-bugs-life-colonial-allegory/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref>

The protagonists of the 1971 ''[[tokusatsu]]'' series ''[[Kamen Rider (1971 TV series)|Kamen Rider]]'' primarily carry a grasshopper motif (for example Kamen Rider Black's Batta Man form), which continues to serve as the baseline visual template for most entries in the [[Kamen Rider|media franchise]] it has given birth to since.

===Symbolism===
[[File:Londres - Lombard Street.JPG|thumb|left|Sir [[Thomas Gresham]]'s gilded grasshopper symbol, [[Lombard Street, London]], 1563]]

Grasshoppers are sometimes used as symbols.<ref name="Hazard"/> During the [[Archaic Greece|Greek Archaic Era]], the grasshopper was the symbol of the ''[[polis]]'' of [[Classical Athens|Athens]],<ref name="Roche2005">{{cite book |last1=Roche |first1=Paul |title=Aristophanes: The Complete Plays: A New Translation by Paul Roche |date=2005 |publisher=New American Library |isbn=978-0-451-21409-6 |page=176}}</ref> possibly because they were among the most common insects on the dry plains of [[Attica]].<ref name="Roche2005"/> Native Athenians for a while wore golden grasshopper brooches to symbolise that they were of pure Athenian lineage with no foreign ancestors.<ref name="Roche2005"/> In addition, [[Peisistratus]] hung the figure of a kind of grasshopper before the [[Acropolis of Athens]] as [[apotropaic magic]].<ref name="A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:id=fascinum-cn A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), Fascinum]</ref>

Another symbolic use of the grasshopper is Sir [[Thomas Gresham]]'s gilded grasshopper in [[Lombard Street, London]], dating from 1563;{{efn|The symbol is a wordplay on the name Gresham and "grass".<ref name="Hazard">{{cite book |last=Hazard |first=Mary E. |title=Elizabethan Silent Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtFtcD-u6YoC&pg=PA9 |year=2000 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=0-8032-2397-8 |page=9 |quote=research into Elizabethan wordplay reveals the proprietary nature of Gresham's grasshopper. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=wtFtcD-u6YoC&pg=PA9 |archive-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>}} the building was for a while the headquarters of the [[Guardian Royal Exchange]], but the company declined to use the symbol for fear of confusion with the locust.<ref>{{cite web |title=The City's golden grasshopper |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/the-citys-golden-grasshopper/163810.article |author=Connell, Tim |date=9 January 1998 |publisher=Times Higher Education Supplement |access-date=31 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129085021/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/the-citys-golden-grasshopper/163810.article |archive-date=29 November 2016}}</ref>

Grasshoppers appearing in dreams have been interpreted as symbols of "Freedom, independence, spiritual enlightenment, inability to settle down or commit to decision". Locusts are taken literally to mean devastation of crops in the case of farmers; figuratively as "wicked men and women" for non-farmers; and "Extravagance, misfortune, & ephemeral happiness" by "gypsies".<ref name=Klein>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Barrett A. |title=The Curious Connection Between Insects and Dreams |journal=Insects |date=2012 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi-access=free |doi=10.3390/insects3010001|pmid=26467945 |pmc=4553613 }}</ref>

===As food===
<!--[[File:Walang crispy pedas manis.jpg|thumb|upright|Hot and sweet crispy grasshoppers, [[Yogyakarta Special Region|Yogyakarta]], Indonesia]]-->
[[File:Fried grasshoper.jpg|thumb|Fried grasshoppers from Gunung Kidul, [[Yogyakarta Special Region|Yogyakarta]], Indonesia]]
[[File:Inago no tsukudani 02.jpg|thumb| Sweet-and-salty grasshoppers dish in Japan (''[[Inago no Tsukudani]]'')]]

In some countries, grasshoppers are used as food.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aman |first1=Paul |last2=Frederich |first2=Michel |last3=Uyttenbroeck |first3=Roel |last4=Hatt |first4=Séverin |last5=Malik |first5=Priyanka |last6=Lebecque |first6=Simon |last7=Hamaidia |first7=Malik |last8=Miazek |first8=Krystian |last9=Goffin |first9=Dorothée |last10=Willems |first10=Luc |last11=Deleu |first11=Magali |last12=Fauconnier |first12=Marie-Laure |last13=Richel |first13=Aurore |last14=De Pauw |first14=Edwin |last15=Blecker |first15=Christophe |last16=Arnaud |first16=Monty |last17=Francis |first17=Frédéric |last18=Haubruge |first18=Eric |last19=Danthine |first19=Sabine |year=2016 |title=Grasshoppers as a food source? A review |journal=Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement |volume=20 |pages=337–352 |issn=1370-6233 |url=http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1780-4507/index.php?id=12974 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531110646/http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1780-4507/index.php?id=12974 |archive-date=31 May 2016 }}</ref> In southern [[Mexico]], grasshoppers, known as ''[[chapulines]]'', are eaten in a variety of dishes, such as in [[tortilla]]s with chilli sauce.<ref name=Kennedy>{{cite book |author=Kennedy, Diana |title=Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9j3iBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT754 |year=2011 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-77389-9 |page=754 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=9j3iBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT754 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> Grasshoppers are served on skewers in some Chinese food markets, like the [[Donghuamen Night Market]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dōnghuámén Night Market |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/restaurants/street-food-hawkers/donghuamen-night-market |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=5 May 2015 |quote=the bustling night market near Wangfujing Dajie is a veritable food zoo: lamb, beef and chicken skewers, corn on the cob, smelly dòufu (tofu), cicadas, grasshoppers, kidneys, quail eggs, snake, squid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311091450/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/restaurants/street-food-hawkers/donghuamen-night-market |archive-date=11 March 2015 }}</ref> Fried grasshoppers (''walang goreng'') are eaten in the [[Gunung Kidul Regency]], [[Special Region of Yogyakarta|Yogyakarta]], [[Java]] in Indonesia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Walang Goreng Khas Gunung Kidul |url=http://umkmjogja.com/product/walang-goreng-khas-gunung-kidul|publisher=UMKM Jogja|access-date=30 March 2015 |language=id|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306121955/https://umkmjogja.com/product/walang-goreng-khas-gunung-kidul |archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref><!--In the Arab world, grasshoppers are boiled, salted, and sun-dried, and eaten as snacks.<ref>{{cite journal |last=King |first=Bes Sie |date=23 December 2009 |title=Snack on grasshoppers |url=http://archives.jrn.columbia.edu/2009/nyfoodchain.com/2009/12/23/snack-on-grasshoppers/ |journal=NY Food Chain |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224191253/http://archives.jrn.columbia.edu/2009/nyfoodchain.com/2009/12/23/snack-on-grasshoppers/ |archive-date=24 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>--> Grasshoppers are a beloved delicacy in Uganda; they are usually eaten fried (most commonly in November and May after the rains).<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-12-02|title=The Ugandan love of grasshoppers - and how to harvest them|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46357020|access-date=2021-11-27}}</ref> In America, the [[Ohlone]] burned grassland to herd grasshoppers into pits where they could be collected as food.<ref name="Margolin">{{cite book |last1=Margolin |first1=Malcolm |last2=Harney |first2=Michael (illus.) |title=The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco–Monterey Bay Area |date=October 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjX3oUTYKnAC&pg=PT54 |publisher=Heyday |isbn=978-1-59714-219-9 |page=54 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023307/https://books.google.com/books?id=MjX3oUTYKnAC&pg=PT54 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref>

<!--[[File:Skewered locusts.jpg|thumb|upright|Skewered locusts in [[Beijing]], China]]-->
It is recorded in the Bible that [[John the Baptist]] ate locusts and wild honey (Greek: ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον, ''akrídes kaì méli ágrion'') while living in the wilderness.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Mark|1:6|ASV}}; {{Bibleverse|Matthew|3:4|ASV}}</ref> However, because of a tradition of depicting him as an [[asceticism|ascetic]], attempts have been made to explain that the ''locusts'' were in fact a suitably ascetic [[vegetarian]] food such as [[carob]] beans, notwithstanding the fact that the word ''ἀκρίδες'' means plainly ''grasshoppers''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brock |first1=Sebastian |title=St John the Baptist's diet – according to some early Eastern Christian sources |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3763/John-the-Baptists-Diet.pdf.download |publisher=St John's College, Oxford |access-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102311/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3763/John-the-Baptists-Diet.pdf.download |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kelhoffer |first1=James A. |title=Did John the Baptist Eat Like a Former Essene? Locust-Eating in the Ancient Near East and at Qumran |journal=Dead Sea Discoveries |date=2004 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=293–314 |jstor=4193332 |quote=There is no reason, however, to question the plausibility of Mark 1:6c, that John regularly ate these foods while in the wilderness. |doi=10.1163/1568517042643756|url=http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-141403 }}</ref>

In recent years, with the search for alternative healthy and sustainable protein sources, grasshoppers are being cultivated by commercial companies operating grasshopper farms and are being used as food and protein supplements.

===As pests===
[[File:Grasshopper eating the maize leaf.jpg|thumb|left|Crop pest: grasshopper eating a [[maize]] leaf]]

Grasshoppers eat large quantities of foliage both as adults and during their development, and can be serious pests of arid land and prairies. Pasture, grain, forage, vegetable and other crops can be affected. Grasshoppers often bask in the sun, and thrive in warm sunny conditions, so drought stimulates an increase in grasshopper populations. A single season of drought is not normally sufficient to stimulate a major population increase, but several successive dry seasons can do so, especially if the intervening winters are mild so that large numbers of nymphs survive. Although sunny weather stimulates growth, there needs to be an adequate food supply for the increasing grasshopper population. This means that although precipitation is needed to stimulate plant growth, prolonged periods of cloudy weather will slow nymphal development.<ref name=Capinera1710>Capinera, 2008. pp. 1710–1712</ref>

Grasshoppers can best be prevented from becoming pests by manipulating their environment. Shade provided by trees will discourage them and they may be prevented from moving onto developing crops by removing coarse vegetation from fallow land and field margins and discouraging thick growth beside ditches and on roadside verges. With increasing numbers of grasshoppers, predator numbers may increase, but this seldom happens rapidly enough to have much effect on populations. Biological control is being investigated, and spores of the protozoan parasite ''[[Nosema locustae]]'' can be used mixed with bait to control grasshoppers, being more effective with immature insects.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-117001_01-Oct-00.pdf |title=''Nosema Locustae'' (117001) Fact Sheet |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |date=October 2000 |access-date=6 August 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817073223/https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-117001_01-Oct-00.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2016 }}</ref> On a small scale, [[Azadirachta indica|neem products]] can be effective as a feeding deterrent and as a disruptor of nymphal development. [[Insecticide]]s can be used, but adult grasshoppers are difficult to kill, and as they move into fields from surrounding rank growth, crops may soon become reinfested.<ref name=Capinera1710/>

Some grasshopper species, like the Chinese rice grasshopper, are a pest in [[rice]] paddies. Ploughing exposes the eggs on the surface of the field, to be destroyed by sunshine or eaten by natural enemies. Some eggs may be buried too deeply in the soil for hatching to take place.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rice grasshopper (Oxya chinensis) |url=http://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/Datasheet.aspx?dsid=38206 |publisher=Plantwise |access-date=16 December 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525024556/http://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/Datasheet.aspx?dsid=38206 |archive-date=25 May 2017 }}</ref>
[[File:"Grangers versus Grasshoppers on the Irrepressible Conflict," St. Peter, Minnesota - DPLA - 22822be747ad4bcf8dd4974ee2274aa6 (cropped).jpg|alt=Illustration of grasshoppers attacking farmers.|thumb|Grangers versus Grasshoppers on the Irrepressible Conflict, St. Peter, Minnesota.]]
Locust plagues can have devastating effects on human populations, causing [[famine]]s and population upheavals. They are mentioned in both the [[Quran|Qur’an]] and the [[Bible]] and have also been held responsible for [[cholera]] epidemics, resulting from the corpses of locusts drowned in the Mediterranean Sea and decomposing on beaches.<ref name=Capinera1181>Capinera, 2008. pp 1181–1183</ref> The [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] and other organisations monitor locust activity around the world. Timely application of pesticides can prevent nomadic bands of hoppers from forming before dense swarms of adults can build up.<ref name=FAO>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts-CCA/en/1013/ |title=Control |work=Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404223501/http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts-CCA/en/1013/ |archive-date=4 April 2015 }}</ref> Besides conventional control using contact insecticides,<ref name=FAO/> [[biological pest control]] using the [[entomopathogenic fungus]] ''[[Metarhizium acridum]]'', which specifically infects grasshoppers, has been used with some success.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Biological Control of Locusts and Grasshoppers | journal=Annual Review of Entomology| volume=46| pages=667–702 | year=2001 |author1=Lomer, C.J. |author2=Bateman, R.P. |author3=Johnson, D.L. |author4=Langewald, J. |author5=Thomas, M. | doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.46.1.667 | pmid=11112183 }}</ref>

===Detection  of explosives===
In February 2020, researchers from [[Washington University in St. Louis]] announced they had engineered "cyborg grasshoppers" capable of accurately detecting explosives. In the project, funded by the [[Office of Naval Research|US Office of Naval Research]], researchers fitted grasshoppers with lightweight sensor backpacks that recorded and transmitted the electrical activity of their antennal lobes to a computer. According to the researchers, the grasshoppers were able to detect the location of the highest concentration of explosives. The researchers also tested the effect of combining sensorial information from several grasshoppers on detection accuracy. The neural activity from seven grasshoppers yielded an average detection accuracy rate of 80%, whereas a single grasshopper yielded a 60% rate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/bomb-sniffing-grasshoppers-tested-by-scientists/ar-BB107oVv|title=Bomb-sniffing grasshoppers tested by scientists|website=www.msn.com|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/02/cyborg-grasshopper-engineered-to-sniff-explosives/|title='Cyborg' grasshopper engineered to sniff explosives|last=staff|first=E&T editorial|date=2020-02-18|website=eandt.theiet.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>

===In literature===
[[File:Egyptian-snḥm 2.PNG|thumb|left|Egyptian hieroglyphs "snḥm"]]
The Egyptian word for locust or grasshopper was written ''snḥm'' in the consonantal hieroglyphic writing system. The pharaoh [[Ramesses II]] compared the armies of the [[Hittites]] to locusts: "They covered the mountains and valleys and were like locusts in their multitude."<ref>{{cite web |last=Dollinger |first=André |title=Insects |url=http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/bestiary/insects.htm |publisher=Reshafim |access-date=30 March 2015 |date=January 2010 |orig-year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401025144/http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/bestiary/insects.htm |archive-date=1 April 2015 }}</ref>

One of [[Aesop's Fables]], later retold by [[La Fontaine]], is the tale of ''[[The Ant and the Grasshopper]]''. The ant works hard all summer, while the grasshopper plays. In winter, the ant is ready but the grasshopper starves. [[Somerset Maugham]]'s short story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" explores the fable's symbolism via complex framing.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sopher |first1=H. |title=Somerset Maugham's "The Ant and the Grasshopper": The Literary Implications of Its Multilayered Structure |journal=Studies in Short Fiction |date=1994 |volume=31 |issue=1 (Winter 1994) |pages=109– |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-15356444/somerset-maugham-s-the-ant-and-the-grasshopper |access-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151114/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-15356444/somerset-maugham-s-the-ant-and-the-grasshopper |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> Other human weaknesses besides improvidence have become identified with the grasshopper's behaviour.<ref name=Klein/> So an unfaithful woman (hopping from man to man) is "a grasshopper" in "Poprygunya", an 1892 short story by [[Anton Chekhov]],<ref name="Loehlin2010">{{cite book |author=Loehlin, James N. |title=The Cambridge Introduction to Chekhov |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0BPgUl8-B8C&pg=PA80 |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49352-9 |pages=80–83}}</ref> and in [[Jerry Paris]]'s 1969 film ''[[The Grasshopper (1970 film)|The Grasshopper]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenspun |first1=Roger |title=Movie Review: The Grasshopper (1969) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE4DC1538EE34BC4051DFB366838B669EDE |work=The New York Times |access-date=1 April 2015 |date=28 May 1970 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140742/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE4DC1538EE34BC4051DFB366838B669EDE |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref><ref name="www.museumofflight.org aeronca-l-3b-o-58b-grasshopper">{{cite web |title=Aeronca L-3B Grasshopper |url=http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/aeronca-l-3b-o-58b-grasshopper |publisher=The Museum of Flight |access-date=11 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123034005/http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/aeronca-l-3b-o-58b-grasshopper |archive-date=23 November 2017 }}</ref>

===In mechanical engineering===
[[File:DMM 12236 Halbbalancier-Dampfmaschine.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A [[grasshopper beam engine]], 1847]]

The name "Grasshopper" was given to the [[Aeronca L-3]] and [[Piper L-4]] light aircraft, both used for [[reconnaissance]] and other support duties in [[World War II]]. The name is said to have originated when Major General [[Innis P. Swift]] saw a Piper making a rough landing and remarked that it looked like a grasshopper for its bouncing progress.<ref name="www.museumofflight.org aeronca-l-3b-o-58b-grasshopper"/><ref>{{cite web |title=L-4 Grasshopper |url=http://ww2db.com/aircraft_spec.php?aircraft_model_id=140 |author=Chen, C. Peter |work=World War II Database |publisher=Lava Development |access-date=11 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525024409/http://ww2db.com/aircraft_spec.php?aircraft_model_id=140 |archive-date=25 May 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Piper L-4 Grasshopper Light Observation Aircraft (1941) |url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=332 |publisher=Military Factory |access-date=11 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101103311/http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=332 |archive-date=1 January 2017 }}</ref>

[[Grasshopper beam engine]]s were [[beam engine]]s pivoted at one end, the long horizontal arm resembling the hind leg of a grasshopper. The type was patented by William Freemantle in 1803.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Beam Engine |last=Crowley |first=T.E. |year=1982 |publisher=Senecio |isbn=0-906831-02-4 |pages=95–96}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Grasshopper Beam Engine |url=http://www.animatedengines.com/grasshopper.html |publisher=Animated Engines |access-date=11 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210091100/http://www.animatedengines.com/grasshopper.html |archive-date=10 December 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Dickinson, H.W. |title=A short history of the steam engine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQU6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA108|year=1939 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=108}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}{{-}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book |editor=Capinera, John L. |year=2008 |title=Encyclopedia of Entomology | edition=2nd | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9ITMiiohVQC&pg=PA1710 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-6242-1}}
* {{cite book |author1=Chapman, R. F. |author2=Simpson, Stephen J.|author3= Douglas, Angela E. |year=2013 |title=The Insects: Structure and Function |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXJEi8fo7CkC&pg=PA163 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-11389-2}}
* {{cite book |author=Cott, Hugh |author-link=Hugh B. Cott |date=1940 |title=Adaptive Coloration in Animals |publisher=Oxford University Press|title-link=Adaptive Coloration in Animals }}
* {{cite book |author=Pfadt, Robert E. |year=1994 |title=Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zimx6Q9y1CMC |publisher=Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Caelifera}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Grasshoppers}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Caelifera}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|grasshopper}}

{{Orthoptera|2}}
{{Insects in culture}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q124481994}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Grasshoppers| ]]
[[Category:Acrididea]]
[[Category:Extant Triassic first appearances]]
[[Category:Herbivorous insects]]
<!-- [[Category:Insect suborders]] moved to "Caelifera" redirect -->
[[Category:Insects in culture]]
[[Category:Insect common names]]