Beware! Grasshoppers may wipe your entire garden

There are some 400 identified species of grasshopper. Of the many interesting grasshopper facts, most people are surprised to learn that only 24 species are known to create ecological damage to pastures and outdoor gardens. What do grasshoppers eat? If the grasshopper is one of that critical 24 species group, it will eat just about anything that grows in your garden.

Understanding Grasshopper Facts

Although it is common to mistake grasshoppers and locusts the two are only similar at a distance. A key difference is that locusts have the ability to change color. Some facts about grasshoppers include:

• Young grasshoppers do not have any wings at birth. Their wings develop in the later stages of their life cycle and look like small pads connected at the end of the thorax.
• Generally, grasshoppers are herbivores. They feed on plants as well as grasses. They are abundant in the U.S., and their main enemies are birds, spiders, lizards, and rodents.
• Grasshoppers are mostly seen during autumn, summer, and spring seasons. They occur mostly in large numbers and can cause can incur extensive damages to garden plants.

The Different Types of Grasshoppers

Some of the individual types of grasshoppers include:

Red Legged Grasshopper

The Red legged Grasshopper is brown in color but have bright red hind legs. It is usually seen on soybean crops and other similar plants.

Two-Striped Grasshopper

This specie loves grasses and other plants with broad leaves. They need these kinds of plants to attain their maximum growth. They usually appear late in May until early June.

Spur-Throated Grasshopper

The spur-throated grasshopper has a knob between its two front legs. It is brownish or yellowish in color and reaches a length of about one inch.

Band-Winged Grasshopper

You will identify this type of grasshopper by its brightly colored hind wings. In addition, the wings produce a cracking sound when the grasshopper is in flight.

Bear in mind that these grasshoppers are only a small, representative sampling of the many species you may encounter. Not all insects and not all grasshoppers ar e harmful to your garden plants. If you encounter a species of grasshopper in your garden that you do not recognize, try to capture a live specimen and use an insect guidebook to identify it. You can also take the insect to your local college biology department or to a local plant nursery for identification. If the insect is no threat to your garden, there's no reason to kill it or to drive it away.

Continue to: Some of the Most Important Grasshopper Facts

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