Children often have fun chasing small jumping insects in parks and lawns. And parents at this time, having received a few minutes of rest, enjoy peace and listen to the voiced chatter. So what is this mysterious creature jumping and chirping in the grass? This is a green grasshopper.
Expanding horizons
This is an insect from the family Real Grasshoppers. This is one of the representatives of the Orthoptera squad, widespread throughout the globe.
Orthoptera also includes locusts, bears, crickets and many other known insects, the total number of which reaches almost 20 thousand. The green grasshopper lives in Europe and Asia, in North Africa and in the Middle East. Recently, it can be found not only on the plains, but also in the mountains. For example, in the Alps this insect feels great at an altitude of more than 1,500 m.
What does an insect look like?
Grasshoppers can be observed from the beginning of July until the onset of autumn cold weather. Due to the peculiarities of the body structure and appearance, they are perfectly masked in the grass and in the bushes. A large green grasshopper can have a body length of up to 5-6 cm. Moreover, the length of its elytra can exceed 8 cm, and antennae antennae are one and a half times longer than the body.
The head of the insect is large, oval, slightly flattened from the sides. The color is bright green, sometimes with brown spots. A green grasshopper has three pairs of legs. He uses two shorter front pairs, moving on surfaces. Third, rear pair of legs, longer and stronger. The insect needs it for jumping. And the grasshopper has two pairs of wings. True, only one is involved in flight, and the second pair - the external elytra - serves as reliable protection.
What does a grasshopper have for lunch?
Remember how in the song: he ate only weed, did not touch the booger too? It turns out that the author of these words was very mistaken. Do you know what a green grasshopper eats? He will enjoy lunch with large and small insects, larvae and aphids. So in fact we are dealing with a predator. But this does not mean that there is no vegetable feed in his diet. Succulent plants, buds and flowers, leaves of shrubs and trees are far from a complete list of the small jumper's plant menu.
Watching a big green grasshopper hunt is very interesting, but almost impossible for a layman. To begin with, the insect disguises itself very well in the grass. Grasshopper captures prey on the fly. He holds her forelegs tightly and quickly kills her with strong jaw-mandibles. A harmless-looking insect can crack the chitin protection of any victim.
What is the grasshopper singing about?
The green grasshopper, whose photo can be seen in the article, does not look like a great singer or musician. However, as soon as the heat subsides and the evening draws near, real concerts begin on the street. Maiden grasshoppers emit voiced chatter thanks to a special organ located on the right elytra. This is a special membrane-bow that rubs against the teeth on the right wing.
The music of grasshoppers has a different theme. Strong short trills are used to intimidate competitors. Males publish them before a fight, in which they often inflict serious damage on an opponent. The outcome of a fight is sometimes fatal, but the loss of a mustache can be considered the most terrible damage. A beardless male descends to the lowest level of the social ladder. He is weak, and everyone sees it.
And, of course, the males chirp to attract the attention of females. The louder the love song, the more likely it is to mate and have offspring. As soon as the female has shown interest in the male, the singing becomes quieter. The second part of the concert begins - fascinating. Performing a romantic serenade, the green grasshopper rises slightly on its hind legs, as if dancing.
Breeding
External differences between male and female are quite definable. The female’s abdomen ends with a long, sword-like appendix. This is the ovipositor necessary for procreation.
After mating, the female is busy laying eggs. Most often, masonry occurs in the soil, but it also occurs in the bark of trees and on branches of a shrub. In spring, larvae appear on the eggs, feeding on plant foods. Development to an adult takes about two months, during which time a young insect sheds 5 times.