Most grasshoppers first appear as tiny larvae in late spring to early summer. For several months, these larvae, known as ‘hoppers’, do nothing but eat, grow and molt. In autumn the final-stage larvae metamorphose into adults and kick off the mating season. Females deposit their eggs in the soil, where they remain until the following spring, when the cycle begins anew. The adults all die off with the onset of winter.
Autumn, when the grasshoppers are busy mating, is a great time to catch and observe these fascinating insects. Here are a few locally common species to look for.
TONOSAMA-BATTA (Locusta migratoria)
Batta is the generic Japanese term for grasshopper, and Tonosama is the respective form used to refer to a daimyo or feudal lord. This very large round-headed grasshopper frequents lawns and open fields across the Eurasian continent from northern Africa to Japan, and is commonly called migratory locust in English. Usually solitary but occasionally forms destructive swarms that can wipe out crops and vegetation over a large area.
Locust swarms occur when the density of larva in a particular area increases beyond a certain tipping point. The adults emerge with shorter, lighter bodies and longer, more powerful wings. Great swarms of migratory locust occurred in Hokkaido in the late 19th century, and the costs of battling these insects is said to have almost bankrupted the new Meiji government. The last major swarm observed here in Japan occurred in 1986 on an island in Kagoshima Prefecture, and lasted for several years. The ancient scourges that since biblical times have periodically raged across northern Africa and western Asia is usually due to a separate but closely related species, the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria).
Two other large round-headed grasshopper species are also common around this time of year. (For more details about these, check out the Grasshopper Secrets post in the Nature Strolls in the Hokuso Hanano-oka Park section)
ONBU-BATTA (Atractomorpha lata)
Mid-sized pointy-nose grasshoppers. The male jumps on the back of a female and lets her carry him around until she is ready to mate. Onbu refers to the traditional manner of strapping a baby or young child on the back. This name leads some people to wrongly assume that the two grasshoppers are mother and child.
SHORYOBATTA-MODOKI (Gonista bicolor)
Small, pointy-nose grasshoppers that prefer grassy meadows with slightly higher vegetation. Thin and delicate, with beautiful pink or purple colors on top, they often perch motionless on plant stems and branches, making them hard to spot. Shoryobatta is the famous grasshopper closely associated with the return of ancestral spirits during the Obon Festival (see the August 13 Grasshoppers, Dragonflies and Ancestral Spirits post). The modoki in Japanese common names carries the meaning of being an imitation, fake, imposter or wanna-be, and is assigned to plants and animals that superficially resemble better known or more highly valued species.
FUKI-BATTA
Fuki-batta comprise a large group of mostly flightless grasshoppers that are widely distributed in East Asia. The wings, even in the adults, have atrophied to short stubs. At least two dozen species are found here in Japan, many of which, due to their inability to disperse through the air, are confined to restricted distributions. Identification is extremely difficult, often requiring close comparison of the reproductive parts. The most common species in the Hokuso region are classified in the genus Parapodisma.
INAGO (genus Oxya)
Inago is a general term for grasshoppers that feed primarily on rice and other plants in the grass family. Many are considered to be agricultural pests. Species in the genus Oxya, common in Asia, are often referred to as rice grasshoppers in English.
By far and away the most common local species is the kobane-inago (Oxya yezoensis). Kobane means ‘short-winged’, and the wings of this species are shorter or about the same length as the upper hind leg. A less common species is the hanenaga-inago or ‘long-winged’ inago (O. japonica), whose wings are clearly longer than the upper hindleg.
When I first arrived here in northern Chiba Prefecture about 40 years ago, I used to meet groups of elderly farmwives out collecting inago by the hundreds in cloth bags. They told me they sell the insects to shops that make tsukudani, a traditional Tokyo-area dish consisting of small fish, insects, shrimp, marine algae and other delicacies simmered in soy sauce, sugar and mirin sweetened rice wine.
