What do grasshoppers eat?

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Find out what these high-jumping insects like to munch on.

Grasshoppers are insects that belong to the same group as katydids, crickets and cockroaches. They can be pesky little creatures, and we get swarms of them in our yard during the summer. My kids like to catch grasshoppers and put them in jars – with holes poked in the lids for air, of course.

History of the Grasshopper

Locusts make up one segment of grasshoppers, and the locust has given the grasshopper a bad name. The locusts form into large groups and migrate from place to place, devouring agricultural crops in their path.

The locust is mentioned in the Old Testament book of Exodus in the Bible. When Moses appeared before Pharoah to demand that he let the Israelite slaves go free, Pharoah refused. God then sent 10 plagues upon Egypt; one of the plagues included swarms of locusts that ate all the surrounding vegetation.

A grasshopper also appears in one of Aesop’s fables: “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” In the fable, the ant is busy and industrious, scurrying around to gather food and prepare for the winter. The grasshopper instead spends his time playing. When winter comes, the ant is snug and fed, while the grasshopper is left begging for the ant’s charity. When the ant refuses, the grasshopper starves to death.

During the height of B-movie science fiction, there was a movie in 1957 that featured giant grasshoppers attacking the city of Chicago. The film was called “Beginning of the End,” and was spoofed on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” during their fifth season, which aired in 1993 and 1994.

What do Grasshoppers Eat?

Grasshoppers are herbivores, or plant-eaters. They eat just about any plant, including grass and vegetables out of the garden. Locusts and other species of grasshoppers can be quite a nuisance to farmers. What do grasshoppers eat? They eat plants, and lots of them.