Green Grasshopper
Interesting Facts about the Green Grasshopper
The green grasshopper is an insect of the order Orthoptera and the suborder Caelifera. They are mainly found in tropical areas. They are different from katydids and bush crickets, in that they are sometimes called short-horned grasshoppers. The camouflage of a green grasshopper helps protect it from predators.
The green grasshopper, like its various cousins, has a pair of antennae that are usually shorter than their body. As a rule, they have wings, and their hind wings are made of a membrane-like material, while their front wings are not made for flight.
The life cycle of the green grasshopper begins when the female lays a pod of fertilized eggs, using her abdomen and her ovipositor to insert the eggs one or two inches underground. The eggs will stay there through the fall and winter seasons, and then after the weather has warmed, they will hatch. They develop in six stages, from nymph to adult, and their bodies and wings get progressively larger as time passes.
The circulatory system of the green grasshopper is open, with much of the bodily fluid filling its appendages and cavities. The one organ that is closed is the dorsal vessel, which extends from the hind end, through the thorax to the head. This organ is shaped like a tube, and it has two separate regions, including the aorta and the heart. The heart and aorta work with accessory pumps that carry haemolymph through the body. Green grasshoppers also have green “blood”, since their blood doesn't carry oxygen.
Grasshoppers breathe through air-filled tubes that open at the surfaces of the abdomen and the thorax. The valves of the organs through which they breathe, spiracles, only open to allow the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Other body parts, called tracheoles, carry the oxygen through the grasshopper's body.
The digestive system of the green grasshopper has a foregut, a midgut and a hindgut. Food is chewed in the mouth and passed on through to the crop. Then the nutritious parts of food travel throughout the body, while the waste products are carried to the anus.
The green grasshopper has a nervous system controlled by loose groups of nerve cells called ganglia. Each segment contains ganglia, as does the head. The sensory organs are located near the outside of the body, and they consist of tiny hairs. Grasshoppers have organs for sound reception as well. These are all connected to the brain.
The green grasshopper is one of the types that people “picture” in their minds, when they hear the word “grasshopper”. The green grasshopper is an interesting specimen, and he is one of the easier grasshoppers to dissect, if your studies take you in that direction.