Hoppin' Grasshoppers
Most grasshoppers cause little harm to crops or gardens. However, if food becomes scarce, they switch to a new form called locusts. This form actually looks different to the solitary form, to the point that one would think it was a completely different species. But it is not the appearance change which is the problem, it is the change in behavior. Locusts really like each others company, they join together in huge (we're talking billions of locusts, covering hundreds of square miles in the worst cases) and eat just about every green thing they encounter. When food is plentiful, grasshoppers exist in the solitary form. In this form they act just like other grasshoppers - they have no tendency to form swarms, and they do little damage. They can exist in the solitary form for many generations until food gets scarce.
• A Grasshopper is an amazing insect that can leap 20 times the length of its own body. If you or I could do that, we would be able to jump almost 40 yards!
• A more attractive feature of some grasshoppers is their ability to sing. It's the males that sing, and they do it to attract female mates, or to warn off other males.
• When a grasshopper is picked up, they "spit" a brown liquid which is known by most kids and adults as "tobacco juice".
• Short horned grasshoppers have ears in the sides of the abdomen. Long-horned grasshoppers and crickets have ears in the knee-joints of their front legs.
Grasshoppers are named aptly as they live in the grass and plants on the ground. The usual coloring of the grasshopper is green and brown, but if a particular species lives in a more colorful habitat, that can change. Part of their defensive system is to blend with their surroundings. When completely still, they are often overlooked.
Grasshoppers are active during the day. If they are disturbed, they will jump suddenly, using their oversized hind legs to become airborne. Grasshoppers don't just jump, though. When all is calm and they do not feel they are in danger, grasshoppers will walk using their front legs.
Close relatives of the grasshoppers are the crickets. There are two main types of grasshoppers--the short horned Acrididae and the long horned Tettigoniidae. One of their common names is "bush cricket". The bush crickets live mainly in trees and shrubs. The name bush cricket causes some confusion for the grasshopper as they are often misidentified as a cricket.
The main difference between a bush cricket and a grasshopper is in their diet. Grasshoppers are completely herbivorous, meaning they are vegetarians. Bush crickets are omnivorous, meaning they eat other insects and vegetation.
Both grasshoppers and bush crickets lay eggs. Grasshopper eggs are encased in a tough case that is called the egg-pod. The egg-pod is buried in the ground by the female. Each pod has between five and fourteen eggs. Females lay several pods each season. The young hatch in the form of tiny worm-like larva. After molting, they will look like their parents except they won't have wings. Subsequent molting will eventually produce the wings as the size of the young grasshoppers increase.
Aesop's Fables
The Ant and the Grasshopper
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant walked by, grunting as he carried a plump kernel of corn.
"Where are you off to with that heavy thing?" asked the Grasshopper.
Without stopping, the Ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"
"I am helping to store food for the winter," said the Ant, "and think you should do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have plenty of food right now."
But the Ant went on its way and continued its work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer. He begged the ants for any food they could spare.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
Then the Grasshopper knew:
There is a time for work and a time for play.
The Owl and the Grasshopper
Screech, screech, SCREECH.
A grasshopper sang all day long.
"Would you please be quiet?" Owl asked.
Screech, screech, SCREECH.
Noisy grasshopper kept singing.
"What a bother!" said Owl to himself. "Be quiet down there! Please!" he said. "I need my rest!"
But the rude insect just wouldn't stop.
Screech, screech, SCREECH.
Then Owl got a gleam in his eye. "Grasshopper," he said sweetly, "since I can't sleep, let's have some fun. Why don't you come up here and I will make a snack."
Foolish Grasshopper thought that was a fine idea. Up, up Owl's tree he hopped. As soon as he got close, Owl grabbed him.
"Delicious!' said Owl to himself. Then he fell asleep at last.
The moral of this story?
Try your best to get along with your neighbors
Grasshopper Pie
4 tablespoons butter 
7 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 gallon mint chocolate chip ice cream
Chocolate sauce or hot fudge (optional)
1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove the pan from the stove and let the butter cool for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, have your child crumble the graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor. Add the sugar and nuts, then pulse the ingredients in short bursts until you have very fine crumbs.
3. Empty the crumbs into a medium -size mixing bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and salt, then the melted butter. Have your child use her fingers to evenly blend the ingredients. Then blend in 1 or 2 teaspoons of water until the crumbs clump together slightly.
4. Heat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9 -inch pie plate and press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake the crust on the center oven rack for 10 minutes. Let the crust cool on a wire rack, then chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Transfer the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator for 10 to 20 minutes, so that it will soften.
5. Now your child can spoon the softened ice cream into the piecrust, pressing it firmly with an ice-cream spade to fill any air holes. Smooth the top, then place the pie back in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until it's firm. When it's time to serve the pie, drizzle chocolate sauce on each slice, if desired. Makes 10 servings.
Egg Carton Grasshopper
Cardboard egg cartons
Markers
Glue
Scissors
Construction paper
Pipe cleaners
Wiggly Eyes
Tape
1. The grasshopper is made using three sections of a cardboard egg carton. First cover the egg carton piece with marker or acrylic paint.
2. Cut out the two legs from the template and attach to body with glue.
3. Glue the wiggly eyes in place.
4. Cut a pipe cleaner in half. Make two holes in the head of the grasshopper. Place the two halves of the pipe cleaner in these holes.
5. Tape the pipe cleaners in place from the underside of the grasshopper.
