Editing Grasshopper (section)

===Diet and digestion===
[[File:Grasshopper mouth anatomy.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Structure of mouthparts]]
{{further|Digestive system of insects}}

Most grasshoppers are [[polyphagous]], eating vegetation from multiple plant sources,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_grasshopper_new.php |title=Grasshoppers |author=Davidowitz, Goggy |publisher=Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum |access-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507144753/http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_grasshopper_new.php |archive-date=7 May 2015 }}</ref> but some are [[omnivorous]] and also eat animal tissue and animal faeces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=Kevin M. |last2=Woods |first2=Stephen A. |last3=Streett |first3=Douglas A. |title=Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Foraging on Grasshopper Feces: Observational and Rubidium-Labeling Studies |journal=Environmental Entomology |date=1 December 1997 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=1224–1231 |doi=10.1093/ee/26.6.1224 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/26/6/1224/2464391|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In general their preference is for grasses, including many [[cereal]]s grown as crops.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Foraging on Grasshopper Feces: Observational and Rubidium-Labeling Studies |author1=O'Neill, Kevin M. |author2=Woods, Stephen A. |author3=Streett, Douglas A. |journal= Environmental Entomology |volume=26 |issue=6 |year=1997 |pages=1224–1231 |doi=10.1093/ee/26.6.1224}}</ref> The digestive system is typical of insects, with Malpighian tubules discharging into the midgut. Carbohydrates are digested mainly in the crop, while proteins are digested in the ceca of the midgut. Saliva is abundant but largely free of enzymes, helping to move food and Malpighian secretions along the gut. Some grasshoppers possess [[cellulase]], which by softening plant cell walls makes plant cell contents accessible to other digestive enzymes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Lawrence Irwin |title=Insect Molecular Biology and Biochemistry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9iXwIC_l3cC&pg=PA399 |year=2012 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-384747-8 |page=399 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127023308/https://books.google.com/books?id=H9iXwIC_l3cC&pg=PA399 |archive-date=27 November 2017 }}</ref> Grasshoppers can also be [[cannibalism|cannibalistic]] when swarming.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=David A. |authorlink=David A. Sinclair |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1088652276 |title=Lifespan |date=2019 |others=Matthew D. LaPlante, Catherine Delphia |isbn=978-1-5011-9197-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1088652276 |page=99}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-05-08 |title=March of the locusts – individuals start moving to avoid cannibals |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/march-of-the-locusts-individuals-start-moving-to-avoid-cannibals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521123320/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/march-of-the-locusts-individuals-start-moving-to-avoid-cannibals |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 May 2021 |first=Ed |last=Yong |website=nationalgeographic.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=From solo to sociable—how locusts try to avoid cannibalism |url=https://phys.org/news/2012-08-solo-sociablehow-locusts-cannibalism.html |date=2012-08-29 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Grasshopper eating leaf.jpg|thumb|none|alt=A differential grasshopper eating the leaf of a climbing pea plant|A [[differential grasshopper]] eating the leaf of a [[pea|climbing pea]] plant. [[Cellulase]] in its [[Gastrointestinal tract|digestive tract]] allows it to digest [[cellulose]] in the [[cell wall]]s of plants.]]