Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Swarms of Grasshoppers
By: Tom Berg
Grasshoppers are a common insect all over the United States (and the world, for that matter). There are approximately 11,000 species of grasshoppers worldwide and more than 400 species live right here in the USA. Some of those include the two-striped grasshopper, the spur-throated grasshopper, the red-legged grasshopper and the bird grasshopper, just to name a few.
As we all know, grasshoppers are excellent jumpers. They have large hind legs that propel them skyward to evade predators or just move from one place to another. Most species have wings, and a majority of those winged grasshoppers can fly. They usually don’t fly very far, although in the case of swarming locusts they can actually fly surprisingly long distances.
When certain species of grasshoppers become overcrowded, their behavior changes and they can begin to swarm. If grasshoppers enter the swarming phase, they are called locusts. Locusts are incredibly destructive, since they eat all of the vegetation and plant life in their path. This includes grass, stems, leaves, flowers, grain and fruit.
Although it would be hard for most of us to comprehend, a giant swarm of grasshoppers (or locusts) would spell disaster for the surrounding environment. Back in 1875 in Nebraska, an enormous swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts devastated the surrounding farmlands. It was the largest swarm of locusts ever recorded, stretching 1,800 miles long and over 100 miles wide! One resident reported seeing dense clouds of locusts flying overhead for five days straight. Different estimates tallied the number of locusts in that swarm at between 3.5 and 12.5 trillion insects! Luckily for today’s farmer, the Rocky Mountain locust is now extinct.
Obviously, it’s a bad thing for humans when grasshoppers swarm. But grasshoppers are still a very important part of the environment. By eating different plants they help with plant decomposition and the recycling of nutrients in local ecosystems. They are also an important food source for many creatures, including birds, snakes, frogs, raccoons, opossums and even other insects. Some people eat them, too!
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