View allAll Photos Tagged grasshopper
There appear to be more grasshoppers than usual this year, with one spotted taking shelter under a brown-eyed Susan.
Bokeh Wednesday
Haven't seen many of these around this year. I think this is a Red Legged Grasshopper.
Grasshopper Sparrows are a favorite of mine. They seem to not mind me sitting down in their little area. They pop up, duck down, weave and swerve their way through the grass until they feel too close and fly around in a circle. Then repeat.
Adult grasshopper on a fern frond in the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Date: August 17, 2021
Location: Centennial Park - Ellicott City, Maryland (Howard County)
Savage
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Differential Grasshopper (Melananoplus differentialis).
Cedar Hill State Park. Cedar Hill, Texas.
Dallas County. 30 September 2018.
Nikon D500. Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4E ED PF VR + TC-14e III teleconverter.
(420mm) f11 @ 1/640 sec. ISO 1000.
This grasshopper was pretty big, at least as long as my index finger. It wasn't going to allow me a flat-on angle for max focus of that long body though - more flower got in the way. I tried nudging it like I get away with sometimes nudging my mantises. What a dope - last part of this guy's name is "hopper". Duh. Luckily I gave in and went for the head shot before I tried the nudge approach. It really was about the 'hopper's snout deep in the white flower anyway, seemed to be happily munching away.
On my way back from the Hamama Falls in Waihe'e Nature park, I noticed this young grasshopper having his breakfast on a small yellow flower.
The obscure bird grasshopper (Schistocerca obscura). Reaching over 3 inches from head to wingtip, a large female really does make an impression. Males are smaller, sometimes remarkably so, and mating pairs can look rather bizarre, with a male only half the size clinging to the back of the female.
The name "bird" comes from the penchant of locusts in this genus to fly rather long distances, and often up into trees, if they are frightened. Their long wings and strong flight do resemble a small bird at times. The genus Schistocerca also includes species that swarm in devastating hordes in Africa and South America, but our local species are not usually numerous enough to be very destructive.
While grasshoppers will generally eat almost anything green, the obscure bird grasshopper seems to favor plants in the citrus family, such as wafer ash and lime trees. They will, though, eat many different kinds of broad-leafed plants.
As with many locusts, the color of this species is variable. Some individuals are very dark and greenish, but others can be bright yellow, and sometimes they have blue eyes. They almost always have a yellow stripe down their backs. Besides using their flight to escape predators, if these grasshoppers are captured, they have further defenses. Grabbed at the wrong way, they can deliver a good bite with their strong jaws. If held by the back, they will kick with their muscular hind legs, and the large spines can draw blood. I found this male at Dinner Island Ranch, in Hendry County, Florida.
After posing on a leaf, this grasshopper decided to pose on the white(ish) patio door sill in our garden.
The insect was just under 1" in length.
A quick grab shot of this little grasshopper before it hopped away.
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Nikon D300. Tamron 180mm Macro. 1/640th @ f/16. ISO 640. EV = - 2/3
... a tale ...
A toad and a grasshopper were the best of friends. Though they were together all the time, they never ate at each other’s places. One day, the toad invited the grasshopper over to his place. “I would like you to come to my place for dinner tomorrow night. My wife and I will cook a special meal for you,” the toad said.
So, the following day, the grasshopper arrived at the toad’s place in the evening. It was dinner time and before they sat for dinner, the toad requested the grasshopper to wash his forelegs as he did. The grasshopper too rubbed his forelegs together to wash them but it made a very loud noise.
“Your legs are making too much noise. I cannot eat in such noise,” the toad said. The grasshopper tried his best to eat without making any noise, but he failed. Every time he took a bite, it made some noise. Throughout the dinner, the toad asked the grasshopper several times to stop chirping. The grasshopper eventually got offended. He had an idea and invited the toad for dinner very next day.
Next day, the toad arrived for dinner at the grasshopper’s place on time. The grasshopper washed his forelegs and asked the toad to do the same. The toad washed his forelegs and hopped towards the food.
“Dear friend, please wash your forelegs again. They became dirty again as you hopped towards the food.”
The toad was a little offended but he followed the order of his friend. This time he came back after washing his forelegs and was about to take some food from the platter when the grasshopper stopped him rudely.
“Please do not touch the food with your dirty hands. You must clean your forelegs first,” the grasshopper said.
The frog lost his temper. He said, “Why are you behaving like this? If you don’t want me to eat with you, you might as well tell me that. It’s understood that I have to reach the food table by hopping with my forearms. They will get a little dirty. I cannot help it. You are making me feel terrible.”
The grasshopper replied, “I felt the same way yesterday. You asked me to not make any noise with my forelegs when you know that it will make some noise if I rub my forelegs together. Even I cannot help it.”
Since then, their friendship was destroyed and they never became friends again.
Moral: We must accept both the good and the bad things about people we are friends with.
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