Grasshopper

 

True Wild Life | Grasshopper | The grasshopper is a medium to large sized insect and the grasshopper is found (close to grass) all over the world. Grasshoppers are best known for their ability to jump incredible heights and distances. Most grasshopper individuals grow to about 2 inches long although larger grasshoppers are found on a fairly regular basis that grow to more than 5 inches in length. The grasshopper has wings meaning it can migrate over long distances when the weather gets too cold.

There are 11,000 thousand known species of grasshopper on Earth, that live in grassy areas such as fields and meadows and forest and woodland. Like all insects, all species of grasshopper have a three-part body that is made up of the grasshopper's head, it's thorax and the abdomen. Grasshoppers also have six legs, two pairs of wings, and two antennae. The antennae of the grasshopper are known to be remarkably long and can often be longer than the grasshopper's body, although the grasshopper's antennae and the grasshopper's body are normally about the same size. Grasshoppers use their long antennae in order to make sense of their surroundings.

Grasshoppers have six jointed legs that are incredibly powerful for such a small creature, as grasshoppers are able to jump extraordinary distances. The two back legs of the grasshopper are long and powerful and are just for jumping, where the four front legs of the grasshopper are primarily used to hold onto prey and to help it to walk. Despite their large size, grasshoppers are herbivores animals and have a diet that consists solely of plant matter. Grasshoppers eat grasses, weeds, leaves, shrubs, bark and numerous other species of plants that surround them.

The grasshopper is also a stable food source for many predators around the world including reptiles, insects, small mammals and birds. It is common for humans to eat grasshoppers in places like Asia and Africa where the bigger species of grasshopper are found, and there is a less readily available alternative protein source. The female grasshopper lays an egg pod that contains a couple of dozen grasshopper eggs in the late autumn to early winter depending on the area. The female grasshopper inserts her egg pod into the soil so that it is a couple of inches underground. The grasshopper eggs can take up to 9 months to hatch as they wait until the weather has warmed before breaking into the outside world.

When the first baby grasshopper (known as a nymph) hatches out of it's egg, it tunnels through the soil and up to the surface, and the remaining grasshopper nymph follow. As they get older, the grasshoppers will increase in size until they are adults. The grasshopper only remains in this stage (young and adult) for a few months before it dies meaning that most grasshopper individuals spend the majority of their lives inside an egg.

Creatures of Bullo River

The land around Bullo River Station is spectacular, to say the least. And its inhabitants are equally remarkable. As part of our ongoing study into pygmy freshwater crocodiles (see previous post) we keep bumping into critters that seem even more intriguing.

Every two to three days, Franz Ranacher drops us off with his Robinson R44 helicopter into the upstream escarpment country. Once the fading sound of rotor blades has left us behind, we're surrounding by the sounds of birds, chirruping insects and squeaking frogs. You really don't have to go very far to find something fascinating. Our surveys involve long walks during the day along the creeklines and isolated pools, returning at night to spotlight for crocodiles and hopefully catch a handful for tissue samples. So we get to see a lot of diurnal and nocturnal wildlife. Occasionally we find something that really takes our breath away. Apart from the crocodiles of course, which are always cause for excitement.

So if you'll excuse my slight devitation from the crocodile theme of this blog, here are a couple of really cool critters. You can call them honourary crocodiles if it makes you feel any better about it!

The first is a Northern Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus sheai). This little fellow was hot-footing it along beside our mozzie dome one night, looking more like a wind-up mechanical toy than a reptile. We managed to intercept him with the camera and took a few snaps. They really do have a tiny little, stunted-looking knobbly tail. I'm sure the first one to be found was suspected of having its tail bitten off when it was young... and then the second... and then they all seem to have these bizarre tails! They also have an enormous head, so much that they always seem to be in danger of pitching nose-first into the sand. Their entire body is also covered with tiny, rosetted scales. With their huge eyes and disarmingly amused expression, they're not the kind of thing you forget easily.

The second is a Leichardt's Grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera), which seem like they've come straight out of a children's toyshop. Some Aboriginal people call these "Children of the Lightning Man" and you can probably see why. As you can probably imagine, they taste pretty bad, which explains why they're pretty laid back when you find one. Not that we had any intentions of eating one to test the theory. These grasshoppers are also used as a sign of the oncoming wet season. Although it is still early September here, the humidity is starting to rise and the days and nights are getting progressively warmer. These kinds of triggers cause the adult form of the grasshoppers to emerge, where they are said to look for the lightning storms that signal the beginning of the wet season in November.