Grasshoppers
When we were children we used to catch all sorts of different bugs. Probably the most fascinating and noisiest bugs that we preffered to catch was the grasshopper. Grasshoppers are herbivores, meaning that they eat nuts, fruits, and other plants. On rare occasions grasshoppers live in hundreds and can change their behavior in a short period. These grasshoppers are referred to as locusts.
The Grasshoppers have antennae that are almost always shorter than the body and short ovipositors. Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing the hind femurs against the forewings or abdomen, or by snapping the wings in flight. Tympana, if present, are on the sides of the first abdominal segment. The hind femora are typically long and strong, fitted for leaping. Generally they are winged, but hind wings are membranous while front wings are coriaceous and not fit for flight. Females are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors.
They are easily confused with other such creatures, like the cricket, but can be identified by the number of segments in their antennae and structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympana and modes of sound production. Ensiferans have antennae with at least 30 segments, and caeliferans have fewer.
The digestive system of insects includes a foregut (stomodaeum - the mouth region), a hindgut (proctodaeum - the anal region), and a midgut (mesenteron). The mouth leads to the muscular pharynx, and through the esophagus to the crop. This discharges into the midgut, which leads to the malpighian tubules. These are the chief excretion organs. The hindgut includes intestine parts (including the ileum and rectum), and exits through the anus.
Most food is handled in the midgut, but some food residue as well as waste products from the malpighian tubules are managed in the hindgut. These waste products consist mainly of uric acid, urea and a bit of amino acids, and are normally converted into dry pellets before being disposed of.
The salivary glands and midgut secrete digestive enzymes. The midgut secretes protease, lipase, amylase, and invertase, among other enzymes. The particular ones secreted vary within the different diets of grasshoppers.