Grasshoppers are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants. Despite their small size, grasshoppers are voracious eaters, able to consume 16 times their own weight in food, according to the Animal Corner website. Some grasshoppers are only 2 inches long. Others grow to more than twice that size, reaching up to 5 inches in length. A grasshopper's antennae are usually the same length as its body.
Thanks to the unique design of their bodies, grasshoppers can soar through the air with the greatest of ease. With their strong legs, grasshoppers jump over 20 times the length of their bodies, according to the Desert Museum, which is equal to a 6-foot tall person leaping 120 feet. Grasshoppers have six legs, though only the long hind legs are responsible for jumping. Grasshoppers also lack ears and rely on their tympana, tiny organs on their stomachs.
Just as humans enjoy a romantic song, grasshoppers use music to woo their mates. Male grasshoppers rub their legs against their wings to create a special sound that attracts females. Desert clicker grasshoppers hide in bushes and creating loud snapping sounds to attract females and warn other males to stay out of their territory.
To defend themselves against predators, grasshoppers have various ways of keeping safe from harm. If threatened, some grasshoppers have a special spit they can project. The liquid is a light brown color and is sometimes called "tobacco juice." Some grasshopper species, like the rainbow grasshopper, eat poisonous plants, which then make them poisonous to predators. Others, like the pallid-winged grasshopper, are the same color as the soil they live on, making them difficult to spot.
Like humans, grasshoppers have two eyes. However, grasshopper eyes are "compound eyes," which consist of many small, hexagon-shaped pieces joined together. These eyes are able to see color, shape and movement and also help the grasshopper to judge distances. The grasshoppers' compound eyes are also strong and can see a person from many feet away.
There are more than 16,000 grasshopper species, according to Canadian Geographic, and they live everywhere in the world except for the North and South Poles, which are too cold. All grasshoppers have two pairs of wings, though some are excellent fliers while others never leave the ground.