GRASSHOPPER

any leaping insect of the orthopteran families Acrididae and Tettigoniidae. Though found in a variety of habitats, the grasshopper occurs in greatest numbers in lowland tropical forests, semiarid regions, and grasslands. It ranges in colour from green to olive or brown and may have yellow or red markings. The grasshopper senses touch through organs that are located in various parts of its body-through antennae and palps on the head, through cerci on the abdomen, and through receptors on the legs. Organs for taste are located in the mouth; those for smell on the antennae. The grasshopper hears by means of a tympanal organ situated either at the base of the abdomen or at the base of each front tibia. Its sense of vision is in the compound eyes; light is perceived in the simple eyes (or ocelli). Although most grasshoppers are herbivorous, only a few species are important economically as crop pests. The femur region of the upper hindlegs is greatly enlarged and well adapted for leaping. The male can produce a buzzing sound either by rubbing its front wings together or by rubbing toothlike ridges on the hind femurs against a raised vein on each closed front wing. Some grasshoppers are adapted to specialized habitats: the South American Marellia remipes spends most of its life on floating vegetation, actively swimming and laying eggs on underwater aquatic plants. Grasshoppers generally are large; some exceed 11 cm (4 inches) in length (e.g., Tropidacris latriellei of South America). In certain parts of the world grasshoppers are eaten as food-dried, jellied, roasted and dipped in honey, or ground into a meal. Grasshoppers are controlled in nature by predators such as birds, frogs, and snakes; humans use insecticides and poisonous baits to control crop pests. Short-horned grasshopper (Acrididae) The short-horned grasshopper (q.v.; family Acrididae [see photograph], formerly Locustidae) includes the inoffensive, nonmigratory species and the often-destructive, swarming, migratory species known as locust (q.v.). The long-horned grasshopper (family Tettigoniidae) is represented by the katydid, the meadow grasshopper , the cone-headed grasshopper, and the shield-backed grasshopper. Other orthopterans are also known as grasshoppers. The pygmy grasshopper (family Tetrigidae) is sometimes called the grouse, or pygmy, locust. The leaf-rolling grasshopper (family Gryllacrididae) is usually wingless and lacks hearing organs.