By: Marissa Long
WHO AM I?
My name is Katydid but you can call me the Short-horned Grasshopper. I am an insect and although I am quite small I am one of the most destructive insects you will ever meet. There are many more things interesting about me, so why don’t you keep reading to find out more!
WHERE DO I LIVE?
Normally we live around marshes and wet meadows, which in the Sonoran Desert means we are very hard to find. WHAT DO I EAT?
Normally we eat foliage and plants. We will also eat dry plant matter that we find on the ground. If we are really hungry we will scavenge weak or dead grasshoppers.
HOW DO I LOOK?
I range in size from .2-4.3 inches in length with a long and slender body. We are mostly green or straw colored which helps us to blend into the desert better and avoid predators. We have very long hind legs to allow us to jump and we even have wings! We also have these special organs on the base of our abdomen which allow us to hear.
HOW DO I REPRODUCE?
After a male and a female mate, the female lays about 100 eggs in the soil. After a rest period the eggs hatch and miniature replicas of us adults begin their life. Normally we do this once a year. FUN FACT ABOUT ME:
I can create beautiful sounds by rubbing my front wings together or by drawing my hind legs across the edge of my wings. WHERE DID YOU FIND THE INFORMATION FOR ME?
Short-horned grasshopper. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/541649/short-horned-grasshopperBartlett, T. (2004, February 16). Family acrididae - short-horned grasshoppers. Retrieved from http://bugguide.net/node/view/155. In both of these sources you can find numerous pictures and facts about the Short-horned Grasshopper to further expand your knowledge about their habitat, diet and life cycle in general.
Activities:
|
