Ryedale | Archive | 2003 | August | 06
From the Gazette & Herald, first published Wednesday 6th Aug 2003.
One of the delights of summer, especially during a picnic or a walk in the countryside, is the sound of grasshoppers chirping cheerfully.
It is one of the most atmospheric aspects of summer, for it seems to remind us of calmer times and a more leisurely pace of life.
On most occasions, this highly distinctive sound comes from long grass where these curious insects can hide, live and obtain their food.
For children, and even adults, part of the fun is trying to find one or more of these chirping insects whose noise is never far away.
Quite often, these amazing creatures produce a prodigious leap to carry them well away from danger, even if that danger is often non-existent.
In the case of children, it is usually a case of curiosity rather than a wish to harm them. They want to know what the chirpy things look like, and they also want to know how they manage to produce such a strange noise.
When trying to educate children about grasshoppers, perhaps the first thing to tell
them is that these insects are harmless. They won't bite, sting or scratch, but the children should also be told not to kill them or harm them
in any way.
Sadly, lots of grasshoppers seem to end their lives in jam jars full of grass as they are carried home as a trophy from the countryside - naturally, this is not advisable. Everyone should be able to enjoy these delightful insects in their natural environment, not in captivity.
The chances are that any grasshopper you find will be green in colour so that it matches the grass or other vegetation in which it lives.
It could, however, be brown, tan or even a reddish-purple. If it is one of these basic colours, it will probably be either the common field
grasshopper or the common green grasshopper.
These creatures are perhaps the most common of our grasshopper family; in each case, the female (who is slightly larger than the male), is about three-quarters of an inch in length (20mm). The main identifying feature is the enormous, long and
powerful hind legs whose joints rise higher than the insect's back.
Grasshoppers do have wings, which are folded along their backs, and they can fly, but only rarely do so.
The distinctive chirping noise is produced by the male and he does this to attract females. As a rule, this sound can be heard across the
countryside during the whole of summer, starting in June, continuing through July and into the early days of August.
The noise is produced by a series of tiny peg-like growths on a hind leg which are vigorously rubbed against the strong edges of a fore-wing. The resultant friction creates the distinctive and far-carrying noise whose notes can vary between those required to attract a female, and those which become a mating call.
There are several varieties of grasshopper in this country, some being found only in the southern parts of England. The largest is the large marsh grasshopper, a beautiful tan-coloured insect which is resident in the marshlands of the south of England and the bogs of the west of
Ireland. It lives where plants like the bog myrtle and bog asphodel flourish and the female can grow as large as an inch-and-a-quarter or 32mm
(the bog asphodel was once used to make yellow dye for hairdressing).
Other, rarer, British grasshoppers can be found in specialised habitats, such as woodland, chalky or limestone areas, sand-dunes, meadows or some coastal regions but there is a similar insect which can still be found inside our homes and which, in most cases, is still regarded with some affection.
It is the cricket, perhaps more formally known as the house cricket to distinguish it from others like the wood cricket and various bush crickets.
House crickets are more often heard than seen and, quite often, the first intimation that one is lodging within one's home is the male's distinctive chirping sound. Like the grasshopper, this is an appeal to a willing female.
Having been introduced to this country from North Africa, house crickets cannot survive out-of-doors during our winters and so they enter our homes and often find the cosiest place, ie in warm and dry crevices about the building, sometimes close to an open fireplace.
It was Charles Dickens's story, The Cricket in the Hearth, when it appeared in his Christmas
books, which provided enduring association between crickets and hearths - but he was inspired by a prevailing belief. It was this. It had long been considered lucky to have crickets living and chirping in one's home but, if unhappiness came to the household, then the cricket became silent.
It was also believed that if the crickets suddenly left the house after a long time living there, then disaster of some kind would follow. This might be a death in the family or some other misfortune.
Some country people thought the chirping was the sign of an approaching thunderstorm - but the worst thing was for a white cricket to appear. That
was a very bad omen indeed.
Updated: 11:54 Wednesday, August 06, 2003
© Newsquest Media Group 2008