Marsh Meadow Grasshopper
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphyllum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthropoda Family: Acrididae Subfamily: Gomphocerus Genus: Chorthippus Species: curipennis (Marsh Meadow Grasshopper) Hemimetabolous Metamorphosis is incomplete, lacking a pupal stage. |
Common Black Ant
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphyllum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Formicidae Subfamily: Formicinae Genus: Lasius Species: niger ((Common) black ant) Holometabolous Metamorphosis is complete, including a pupal stage. |
There are over 18,000 known species and subspecies of grasshoppers including locust, which are often mistaken for grasshoppers because they are similar in appearance but have different behavior patterns. There is no taxonomic difference between locust and grasshopper species, Locust are migratory, gregarious and can fly while grasshoppers are solitary and do not display the swarming behavior. Grasshoppers have a total lifespan of 1 year but only live about 30 days as an adult, laying their eggs in the fall which hatch in the spring. Baby nymphs look just like adults with undeveloped wings. Their wings will be completely developed when they reach maturity and they will shed their skin 5 times along the way. They use their large back legs and wings for making music to call females and repel males. Grasshoppers are also able to jump 20x the length of their body, the equivalent of a 6’ person jumping 120’.(6) If a grasshopper is picked up it will spit a tobacco colored liquid called “tobacco juice”. This is believed to be a defense mechanism. (7)
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There are over 14,000 known species and subspecies of ants, a social insect that lives in large colonies. Life begins as an egg some of which will be eaten by nest-mates seeking nourishment. When the egg hatches, a larvae emerges. legless and eyeless it will do nothing but eat and molt until it is large enough for metamorphosis into a pupa. The pupa looks like an adult but it's legs and antennae are folded against their exoskeleton, This is the period when the pupa rests, and while some species spin cocoons others are not covered or "naked". The transition from egg to adult can take 2-3 months. Adults emerge into nature's perfect caste system: queen, worker (sterile female) or male. Queens and males are born with wings. Worker ants (female) do not have wings and go right to work on feeding and maintaining larvae, nest building and food gathering. The male ants will use their wings to mate with airborn ant queens, his only purpose. The males will then die and the ant queens start laying eggs and building colonies. A queen can live for decades.(10) Ants have the largest brain of all insects.(8)(9)
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