As you will see, there are a lot of animals that eat grasshoppers.
This is primarily because these insects are widespread and may be found in a wide range of habitats, as well as the fact that they don’t have the strongest defense systems.
Raccoons are among the animals that eat grasshoppers, along with bats, red foxes, beetles, mantis, dragonflies, snakes, rodents, and even fish.
Grasshoppers are widespread worldwide and are frequently a good food source for many animals, including birds like wild turkeys, crested flycatchers, hawks, chickens, blackbirds, bluebirds, and others.
Grasshoppers are near the bottom of the food chain since they mostly consume grass and plant-based items like flowers and seeds.
They hardly ever catch other animals themselves (unless they are already dead), placing them at the bottom of the food chain.
There are more than 10,000 kinds of grasshoppers, and having these creatures eat them keeps them in check and maintains environmental harmony.
Let’s discuss the names of these animals that eat grasshoppers and some background information about them in our blog article. Let’s go!
1. Chameleon
Chameleon is one of the animals that eat grasshoppers. In Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula, chameleons are lizards.
Chameleons stand apart from other reptiles due to a variety of distinctive traits.
Most have sticky toes that help them cling to branches, alter their color depending on their mood, and even move their eyeballs independently to improve vision.
These animals that eat grasshoppers grab insects with their long, sticky tongues to feed on them.
They consume crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts; some have even been seen consuming plant matter.
2. Praying Mantis
Praying Mantis are amazing animals that eat grasshoppers.
They can be found in jungles, meadows, deserts, and even cities but are most prevalent in warmer climates.
The front legs of this mantis bug are joined, giving the impression that it is praying.
Thanks to their lengthy necks, they can tilt their heads 180 degrees to look behind them.
Additionally, these animals that eat grasshoppers have exceptional hearing and vision, which aids them in locating food.
Praying mantises seize insects with their front legs and hold them down while they devour them alive, notably grasshoppers and other insects.
3. Amphibian
Amphibians that can live on land and in water are frogs. They need to be moist because they breathe through their wet skin.
Frogs can leap and hop thanks to their legs, and they also have prominent eyes and an extremely long tongue for collecting flying insects.
These amphibians eat both insects and other tiny creatures like worms and spiders. They do not chew their prey before swallowing it whole.
These animals that eat grasshoppers’ habitat consist of ponds and lakes with vegetation surrounding them.
4. Foxes
Foxes are omnivorous creatures with a natural range encompassing North America that devour grasshoppers.
They can be discovered in various landscapes, including grasslands, deserts, and wooded areas.
These creatures eat various foods, including mice, rabbits, birds, insects, carrion, and other small animals.
Additionally, they have been observed eating fruit and berries and scavenging in trash cans.
These grasshopper-eating critters use their strong hearing and smell senses to find food. They can travel at a top speed of 30 mph.
5. Coyote
Coyotes are canine family members with long, pointed muzzles, large ears, and long tails.
These light grey and red animals consume grasshoppers, frequently living in open areas like grassland and the desert.
They consume small mammals like rabbits, birds, snakes, and insects.
Coyotes occasionally scavenge meat from dead animals that hunters or other animals have left behind and plant materials like cactus fruit and flowers.
6. Wolves
Wolves are pack-living social creatures. The group comprises an alpha, offspring, and other related animals.
Wolves have a high level of intelligence, making it simple to adjust to new environments.
These incredible beasts hunt smaller animals, insects, and worms in addition to eating meat, mostly hoofed animals.
Using their acute hearing and sight, they engage in pack hunting to take down large animals.
They can see at night thanks to their vision and mark territory or food sources with scent to communicate.
7. Raccoon
Raccoon is next on our list of animals that eat grasshoppers. North American raccoons are medium-sized mammals.
Procyonidae family members consume various foods, such as fruits, vegetables, insects, fish, rodents, and amphibians.
These animals that eat grasshoppers have distinctive qualities that help them survive in the wild.
Great senses of smell, night vision, and incredibly sensitive hearing.
Raccoons are very intelligent as well! They employ rudimentary tools like rocks or branches to carry out simple activities.
8. Hedgehog
African hedgehogs are little, spiky animals that eat grasshoppers. They are distinctive due to their silky fur and prickly quills on the backs of their bodies.
They can reach a length of 14 inches and have spherical heads, small ears, and a short snout.
Among the insects they eat are grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, snails, and worms.
To avoid predators like raptors and snakes, they are nocturnal and solitary creatures that only interact with other hedgehogs during the breeding season.
9. Bat
The bat, a nighttime predator, can threaten a variety of smaller insects they might encounter outside.
The majority of bat species eat insects, and others only consume them. As a result, we refer to them as insectivores.
These animals that eat grasshoppers hunt for beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects they can locate in their surroundings and are adept at decimating mosquito populations.
They are adept at catching grasshoppers off guard, particularly at night when insects doze off.
10. Hawk
In comparison to flycatchers and turkeys, hawks are significantly more proficient predators and will consume anything from grasshoppers to small mammals.
Since they dive from great heights, grasshoppers are simple prey for them.
Even though these animals that eat grasshoppers choose larger food, like rodents, they won’t turn down a simple nibble like a grasshopper.
However, grasshoppers are only a supplemental food source for hawks.
11. Dragon Flies
Despite having a size comparable to grasshoppers, dragonflies are prevalent over much of the planet and are, in fact, predators of these insects.
They occupy fields, woodlands, and areas close to bodies of water like lakes and rivers.
These animals that eat grasshoppers strike from below and feed on insects before consuming their prey.
Additionally, dragonflies have compound eyes that enable simultaneous vision in all directions.
12. Cuckoos
Long-tailed cuckoos have long, narrow wings and long tails. 150 different species of cuckoos live arboreally in tropical woods and woodlands.
Despite being omnivorous, this species prefers eating insects like beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers.
These animals that eat grasshoppers are also infamous for brood parasitism, which happens when they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, forcing the nest owner to raise their young as foster parents.
13. Blue Jay
Ending our list of animals that eat grasshoppers is the most recognizable bird in North America, the Blue jay. They belong to the Corvidae family, including magpies, crows, and ravens.
Blue Jays are known for their gorgeous blue feathers and big stature. They can weigh up to 110 g and have a 17-inch wingspan.
These animals that eat grasshoppers can be found in the deciduous forests of North America, where they construct their nests on sturdily branched trees.
While grasshoppers and caterpillars are eaten for protein, insects eat plant stuff.
Conclusion
Grasshoppers are vivacious creatures that, if disturbed, will bounce and even fly.
However, many animals eat grasshoppers, like birds, snakes, rodents, smaller animals, and other larger insects like dragonflies.
Some grasshoppers are not as prevalent predators as typical grasshoppers because they are harmful when consumed.
They will also attempt to bounce away from their predators using their strong legs, although this is frequently insufficient to ensure their survival.
Hope you’ve learned more about these magnificent animals that eat grasshoppers.
