What Is the Main Habitat for Grasshoppers?

The main habitat of the grasshopper is anywhere there is enough of its preferred food to live on. This is usually open grassland with low-growing vegetation like grasses, cereal grains or shrubs. If there is a scarcity of food in the grasshopper's main habitat, this hardy insect will move on to greener pastures.

  1. Geography

    • Grasshoppers are found all over the world in any habitat that provides food. In some parts of the world, primarily Africa and Asia, grasshoppers are regularly included in the human diet.

    Terrain

    • Grasshoppers prefer meadows, grasslands, pastures, crop fields, foothills, and when food is scarce, your lawn and garden.

    Migration

    • When the grasshopper population grows too large for its main habitat to sustain it, large swarms of grasshoppers relocate to nearby vegetation, often traveling 15 miles or more a day.

    Diet

    • Grasshoppers are herbivores, so they require a vegetation-rich habitat. They feed on a wide variety of plants, though some species specialize in grasses only. A grasshopper can eat its own weight in food in one day.

    Predators

    • Birds, beetles, robber flies, spiders, lizards, toads, and snakes eat grasshoppers throughout their developmental stages. Chickens and guinea hens can keep grasshoppers out of your garden.