Can grasshoppers turn into locust?

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asked Nov 19, 2023 in Science by ChekMedia (2,480 points)
Can grasshoppers turn into locust?

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answered Sep 21 by Jamie (62,030 points)
Grasshoppers as nymphs can turn into locust if they are crowded but if the nymphs are spread out across the landscape and stay away from each other they grow up into grasshoppers and stay grasshoppers for the rest of their lives.

Grasshoppers are thought to be very intelligent and scientific evidence suggests that arthropods possess cognitive functions comparable to those of vertebrates.

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Gomphocerinae), territorial species that defend individual host plant shrubs, home to their territories by memorizing landmarks.

If grasshoppers went extinct then other animals such as snakes, predatory birds and other animals who eat grasshoppers would also eventually go extinct.

If all the grasshoppers were to die and become extinct it would disrupt the balance of the food chain.

As a result, the organisms which depend on others for food will die due to starvation.

While birds consume grasshoppers as their primary food source.

Therefore if grasshoppers were removed from the food web, birds will be suffered more than the baboon.

A grasshopper does sleep and have extended periods of inactivity and dormancy during each night or day which depends on whether the grasshopper is nocturnal or diurnal.

Grasshoppers become inactive and less responsive to stimulation just like us humans do when we sleep.

Grasshoppers before they grow into adult grasshoppers will spend their winter as eggs in the soil and be unaffected by the cold temperatures.

However adult grasshoppers do not live through the winter and usually die before winter or die during winter.

Grasshoppers don't prepare for the winter because grasshopper adults don't live through cold weather.

Grasshoppers lay eggs in clusters in the ground in late summer.

When the weather turns cold, the adult grasshoppers die.

Grasshoppers turn yellow as a result of hormonal signals that they make when they rub against each other.

Also as grasshoppers age and molt several times, the grasshoppers will become black with a yellow stripe before their final yellow and brown coloring with red under their wings.

Adult grasshoppers measure two to three inches long and have a thick body.

A grasshoppers back legs help the grasshopper jump and are also used as a defensive weapon against predators as the grasshoppers back legs can get vigorous kicks using the same process they do when they jump except when the grasshopper angles their legs at their target in defense instead of the ground.

Grasshoppers can survive without legs although once they lose their legs they cannot regrow any lost legs.

If a grasshopper loses a leg they can still survive in most cases but once the grasshopper loses a leg as an adult grasshopper it does not grow back.

Grasshoppers can go through a process of autotomy which is when a grasshopper can shed one or both hindlimbs to escape a predator or it can be abandoned or damaged.

It occurs between the grasshoppers trochanter and their femur which is the second and third leg segments and once the legs are lost on the grasshopper the legs never regenerate or grow back.

Grasshoppers cannot regenerate lost legs.

Losing the leg might have allowed it to survive an attack that might otherwise have killed it.

If a grasshopper loses an antenna or leg as a young nymph, the missing appendage is regrown, in part, at the next molt.

If the damage occurs early enough in the development of the insect, the lost appendages may be completely regenerated.

The eggs of a grasshopper are covered with a sticky substance which protects them underground, where they bind together and form an egg pod.

They'll remain in-situ for around 11 months.

The typical lifespan of a grasshopper is around 12 months.

Adult grasshoppers can live two to three months and often they die out when food becomes scarce or when the weather becomes too cold.

Many predators eat grasshoppers, including birds, blister beetles (which feed on eggs), and robber flies.

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