Grasshoppers belong to the suborder Caelifera within the order Orthoptera, a classification they share with crickets and katydids. These insects are instantly recognizable by their powerful hind legs used for leaping and the noise-making organs used for communication. Whether these familiar grassland residents ever consume other insects is a common question. While their reputation is built on plant consumption, an examination of their feeding habits reveals their diet is not entirely exclusive.
Defining the Grasshopper Diet
Grasshoppers are classified overwhelmingly as primary consumers because they are herbivores, meaning their baseline diet consists entirely of plant matter. Their specialized mouthparts, called mandibles, are perfectly adapted for a plant-based diet, featuring scissor-like edges for cutting and flatter surfaces for grinding vegetation. The majority of species are polyphagous, consuming a wide variety of plant sources, including leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds. Their preferred foods often include common grasses and agricultural crops like rye, corn, and alfalfa. This voracious appetite for foliage means they are often considered serious agricultural pests, but when preferred plants are unavailable, grasshoppers are known to consume less nutritious items, such as moss, bark, or fungi.
Opportunistic Consumption of Animal Matter
Despite their primary classification as herbivores, grasshoppers are not strictly vegetarian and can be opportunistic omnivores. They will rarely consume other insects or small arthropods, but this behavior generally occurs under specific environmental pressures, such as extreme food scarcity or nutrient-poor conditions. This occasional consumption of animal material is typically a survival tactic rather than a regular part of their feeding routine. The consumption of animal protein is often driven by a specific nutritional need that their usual plant diet cannot meet. For adult females, protein is particularly important for reproductive success, as large quantities are required for the formation of the egg yolk precursor protein, vitellogenin. Under conditions of high population density or when plant resources are depleted, grasshoppers are known to resort to scavenging and cannibalism, consuming dead insects or preying upon injured individuals.
Grasshoppers in the Food Web
Grasshoppers serve a foundational role in the food web by acting as primary consumers, efficiently converting plant biomass into energy for higher trophic levels. Their feeding can impact the local ecosystem by removing a substantial percentage of plant material in a given area. This transfer of energy makes the grasshopper a central food source for a diverse array of predators. Birds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians all rely on grasshoppers for sustenance, as do certain species of flies and wasps that prey upon or parasitize them. Their widespread presence and high numbers are instrumental in supporting biodiversity and maintaining the ecological balance of grassland ecosystems.