Grasshopper Facts for Kids

20 Grasshopper Facts For Kids

1. Grasshopper is the common name for a large group of ground-dwelling insects in the Acrididea infraorder.
2. You can identify a grasshopper by their long bodies, long antennas, and large powerful hindlegs.
3. Grasshoppers may be the oldest living herbivorous insects, which appeared at least 250 million years ago.
4. Grasshopper species are distributed all over the world, found on every continent, except for Antarctica.
5. Grasshoppers are herbivorous and feed entirely on vegetation (plants), but there are some omnivorous species.
6. There are around 7,750 living grasshopper species.
7. All grasshopper species have the same body, they have 2 long antennas, 2 pairs of wings, 4 small legs, and 2 large hindlegs for jumping,
8. The average lifespan of a grasshopper is around 12 months, but less than 50% live that long due to predation.
9. Grasshoppers have two excellent defense mechanisms: camouflage and the ability to jump.
10. A grasshopper can jump 10 inches high and leap as far as 36 inches.
11. The smallest grasshopper species are the pygmy grasshoppers (Tetrigidae) with a maximum length of 0.5 inches.
12. The largest grasshopper species is the hedge grasshopper (Valanga irregularis) with a maximum length of 3.5 inches.
13. The grasshopper species are the eastern lubber grasshopper (Romalea microptera) and when grouped together can destroy citrus and vegetable crops.
14. A large gathering of a group of grasshoppers is called a swarm.
15. Grasshoppers in a swarm are referred to as locust.
16. A swarm of locust (grasshoppers) can have major impacts on human populations through the rapid destruction of crops.
17. The largest swarm of locust in recorded history was the Albert’s swarm in 1875 in the Western United States.
18. The Albert’s swarm had an estimated 1 to 12.5 trillion locusts at its peak and covered 198,000 square miles.
19. Grasshoppers are a common food in some countries, like Mexico and Uganda.
20. In Egyptian hieroglyphics the word grasshopper was written as snhm.

Grasshopper Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on grasshoppers. Below are three pictures of various grasshopper species. These pictures should help you better understand the different types of grasshoppers found around the world.

A picture close up of a grasshopper.

A picture of a grasshopper camouflaged in leaves.

A picture of a very colorful grasshopper.