Grasshopper Life Cycle: Introduction, Locusts and Grasshopper

Grasshoppers are probably among the most ancient group of herbivorous insects, whose existence is dated around 250 million years ago. Scientifically grasshoppers are classified under the kingdom Animalia, phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Orthoptera and suborder Caelifera. Typically, grasshoppers are ground-dwelling flying insects with powerful hind legs allowing them to leap under threats; they are polyphagous insects and derive food from plants while some are omnivores feeding on animal tissues and faces. Insects falling under order Orthoptera, including grasshoppers, locusts and crickets, are hemimetabolous insects and have incomplete metamorphosis. Here we will discuss the life cycle of grasshoppers and follow up with some important questions. Hemimetabolous insects are those insects that have only three stages of development- egg, nymph and imago or adult stage and no pupa stage. In contrast to holometabolous insects who undergo- egg, larva, pupa and imago, occupy the majority of the class Insecta. Though grasshoppers have a lifespan of 12 months, most of them don’t go past the nymph stage. 

Read More: Ant Life Cycle

Keyterms: Grasshoppers, Animalia, Arthropoda, Insecta, Orthoptera, Caelifera, Egg, Larva, Pupa and Imago

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Locusts and Grasshopper

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Both grasshoppers and locusts insects belong to the family Acrididae. Locusts are grasshoppers, who form a swarm under preferable environments. Locust grasshoppers accommodate the conditions which include thick growth of vegetation after a long period of zero vegetation. 

Locusts and Grasshopper

Locusts have higher flight capabilities compared to a grasshopper. While both have similar appearances, grasshopper differs from locusts in terms of their structure. However, the life cycle of locust is similar to that of a grasshopper, wherein their lifecycle is also an incomplete metamorphosis occurring in three stages.

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Life Cycle of Grassopper

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The life cycle of grasshoppers consists of three distinct phases like the other hemimetabolous insects- Eggs, Nymph and Imago or adult stage.

• The Egg Stage

After mating, the female grasshopper digs a hole in the ground with a tube-like organ called an ovipositor, in which she lay a bunch of eggs in pods. The eggs are laid during summer, near the food plant so that when offsprings come out, they have immediate food access. While some species deposit pods directly into plant tissues. Each pod may contain 10 to 300 eggs, besides some species cover the pods with sticky forth. The eggs after a few weeks undergo diapause and pass the autumn and wintertime in this state. The development of the eggs resumes when the temperature of the ground rises to a certain threshold. The embryos remain in eggs for up to 10 months and hatch to become nymphs.

• The Nymph Stage

The embryos hatch within a few minutes and they sherd their membranes and their exoskeleton harden they are the first instar nymph. An instar is a development stage of the arthropods between each moult. After hating from respective eggs nymphs start feeding on soft plant foliage. The nymphs undergo several moulting until it reaches their sexual maturity. With each moulting, the instar grows in size, increasing the wing buds. The nymphs often undergo six instar stages, but it varies in some species. Although the instars are similar to adult grasshoppers, they lack functional reproductive organs and wings. The nymph stage lasts for four to six weeks depending upon species, sex and temperature.

• Imago or The Adult Stage 

After the final moulting, the grasshoppers develop fully functional wings and acquire reproductive maturity in 15 days. In contrast to nymphs, adult grasshoppers are more mobile and are able to hunt and escape from predators. By the time the embryos hatch to an adult, the grasshopper is around eleven months and live further for 51 days as an adult. But half of the nymphs do not become adults, as nymphs are less mobile than adults, they often fall prey to birds, lizards, snakes or frogs. 

Grasshopper Lifecycle

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Characteristics of Grasshopper

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The characteristics of grasshopper are as follows:

• Grasshoppers are the insects that range from medium to large. The adult length depends on the species, from 1 to 7 cms.
• They possess chewing mouthparts, two pairs of wings, one is narrow and tough, the other is broad and flexible, along with long jumping hind legs.
• For having short antennas that do not reach very far back on their bodies, they differ from those groups with long antennas.
• Grasshoppers generally have big eyes and are colored in a way to blend into their environment, usually a combination of brown, grey or green.
• The male grasshoppers have bright colors on their wings in some species to attract females.
• A few species eat toxic plants, and keep the toxins in their bodies for protection. And they are colored brightly to warn predators.
• Female grasshoppers are larger than males, and have some pointed spots at the end of their abdomen which help them lay underground eggs.

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Difference between Locusts and Grasshopper

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Things to Remember

• Grasshoppers are classified under the kingdom Animalia, phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Orthoptera and suborder Caelifera
• There are around 11,000 species of grasshopper
• Grasshoppers are hemimetabolous insects and undergo incomplete metamorphosis.
• There are three distinct stages in the life cycle of grasshoppers namely- the egg stage, the nymph stage and the adult stage or imago.
• The grasshopper has an average lifespan of 12 months but half of the grasshoppers do not pass the nymph stage.

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