short-horned grasshopper
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What is a short-horned grasshopper?
The short-horned grasshopper (family Acrididae) is the largest group of grasshoppers, with over 10,000 species. They are herbivorous and may be long and slender or short and stout, ranging in size from 5 mm to 11 cm in length. Many species are green or straw-colored to blend into their surroundings. They have short, heavy antennae, a four-valved ovipositor for laying eggs, and three-segmented tarsi.
Some short-horned grasshopper species are major agricultural pests, including migratory species called locusts. The females lay around 100 eggs in the soil, and the nymphs hatch as miniature replicas of adults, passing through a series of molts before adulthood. In some parts of the world, grasshoppers are eaten as food.
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How can you tell a short-horned grasshopper from other types of grasshoppers?
Short-horned grasshoppers (family Acrididae) can be identified by their short, heavy antennae, setting them apart from other grasshopper types. They range in size from 5 mm to 11 cm. Other key features include a four-valved ovipositor for laying eggs and three-segmented tarsi (distal segments of the leg).
Their body shape varies from long and slender to short and stout, and many species are green or straw-colored for camouflage. The hind legs are adapted for jumping, featuring enlarged femurs. While some have wings, others are wingless. Winged males produce noise by rubbing their front wings together or drawing their hind legs across their wings' edges. Most have tympanal (hearing) organs at the abdomen's base.
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Where do short-horned grasshoppers usually live?
Short-horned grasshoppers (family Acrididae) are a group of insects with over 10,000 species. While most grasshoppers are herbivorous, only a few species are economically important as crop pests.
Grasshoppers live in a variety of habitats, but they are most abundant in lowland tropical forests, grasslands, and semiarid regions. Some are adapted to specialized habitats; for example, South American grasshoppers live on floating vegetation, while some breed in the Himalayas at altitudes as high as 6,000 meters. Some desert-living grasshoppers in the southwestern U.S. and Africa exhibit "self-burial," submerging themselves in the sand.
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What do short-horned grasshoppers eat?
Short-horned grasshoppers, belonging to the family Acrididae, are mostly herbivorous insects, but some will capture and eat other insects. While many species consume a wide variety of plants, some eat only one type or a group of plants. Some species consume only certain parts of plants, like seeds. They are found in various habitats, but are most abundant in grasslands, semiarid regions, and lowland tropical forests. As they are members of the food web, predators like birds, frogs, and snakes consume grasshoppers. Some short-horned grasshoppers are major agricultural pests capable of devastating crops. Humans use insecticides and poison baits to control them when they become crop pests.
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How do short-horned grasshoppers grow and develop?
The female short-horned grasshopper lays around 100 eggs in the soil. After a resting period, these eggs hatch into nymphs, which are essentially miniature versions of adult grasshoppers.
As they develop, the nymphs go through a series of molts before reaching adulthood. In regions with temperate climates, grasshoppers can produce one or more broods each year. Hormones regulate various aspects of grasshopper development, including molting, metabolism, and enzyme secretion for dissolving the cuticle that encloses the embryo at hatching.
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Why are short-horned grasshoppers important in their ecosystems?
Short-horned grasshoppers, belonging to the family Acrididae, are vital to their ecosystems because they influence plant communities through their consumption of leaves, stems, and seeds, which shapes vegetation patterns and contributes to nutrient cycling. They serve as a food source for predators like birds, reptiles, and other insects, making them important to local food webs. The presence and abundance of grasshoppers can indicate ecosystem health, though their populations are declining due to global warming, habitat loss, and insecticide use.
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short-horned grasshopper, (family Acrididae), family of more than 10,000 species of insects, the largest group of grasshoppers. They are herbivorous and include some of the most destructive agricultural pests known. The plague, or migratory, species are called locusts.
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Orthoptera
- Family: Acrididae
See also list of insects.
Physical description
Short-horned grasshoppers range in size from 5 mm to 11 cm (0.2 to 4.3 inches) in length. Members of the family are characterized by short, heavy antennae, a four-valved ovipositor for laying eggs, and three-segmented tarsi (distal segments of the leg). The shape of the body may be long and slender or short and stout. Many species are green or straw-colored, which helps them blend into their surroundings. The hind legs are adapted for jumping, with greatly enlarged femurs. Some species have wings, whereas others are wingless. Among the winged species, the males can produce characteristic noises by rubbing the front wings together or by drawing the hind legs across the edge of the wings. Most species have a pair of tympanal (hearing) organs at the base of the abdomen.
Life cycle and natural history
A female short-horned grasshopper lays about 100 eggs in the soil. The eggs hatch after a rest period, and newly hatched nymphs, miniature replicas of the adults, pass through a series of molts before they become adults. In temperate regions one to several broods are produced each year.
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Major genera and species
The family Acrididae is divided into three subfamilies. The spur-throated grasshoppers, subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae, include some of the most destructive species. In North America the eastern lubber grasshopper (Romalea microptera) is 5β7 cm long and has large red wings bordered in black. The western lubber grasshopper (Brachystola magna), also called the buffalo grasshopper because of its size, has much smaller, pinkish wings. The slender grasshopper (Leptysma marginicollis), found in the southern United States, has clear wings. Melanoplus, the largest short-horned grasshopper genus, contains many of the most common and destructive grasshoppers of North America. These include the Rocky Mountain grasshopper or locust (M. spretus), the migratory grasshopper (M. sanguinipes), the two-striped grasshopper (M. bivittatus), and the red-legged grasshopper (M. femurrubrum).
The slant-faced grasshoppers, subfamily Acridinae, are characterized by a slanted face and clear hind wings. They are usually found around marshes and wet meadows in small numbers and do little damage to vegetation.
The band-winged grasshoppers, subfamily Oedipodinae, produce a crackling noise during flight. When they are not in flight, their conspicuous, brightly colored hind wings are covered by their forewings, which blend into surrounding vegetation. The band-winged grasshoppers are the only type of short-horned grasshoppers that can produce sound during flight. One of the common species, the Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina), has black hind wings with a pale border. The clear-winged grasshopper (Camnula pellucida) is a major crop pest in North America.