Grasshoppers

As autumn turns to winter one starts seeing less insects in the countryside. Last Sunday while taking pictures at Selmun the only insects I saw in any number were grasshoppers. Several jumped into the large spaces between the stones of an old wall and walked slowly on the white limestone dust into the inner part of the wall until they disappeared from view. 

Grasshoppers overwinter as eggs, nymphs or adults so the ones I was observing could be looking for a suitable place to lay eggs or to hibernate.

Grasshoppers are familiar insects with short antennae and large hind legs. Sometimes the hind legs have short projections that are rubbed against the lower edges of the forewing to make a noise during the day. The legs are hard and can exert a lot of force and this gave rise to the idea in Malta that grasshoppers are armed with a knife which they use for self defense.

It is estimated that there are about 11,000 species of grasshopper in the world. Most live in tropical areas especially in rain forests. About 25 species are found in the Maltese islands. Some species are very common and you will see them jumping away from you wherever you walk in the countryside. Most are greyish brown and blend perfectly well with their surroundings. 

Some species have brightly coloured hind wings which are normally kept hidden under the forewings. They are uncovered only when they are flying. Te bright colours have an important function. 

When danger approaches these insects rely on their excellent camouflage for protection but if a predator approaches too closely they fly away startling their enemy with their bright colour for long enough to be able to fly away. They do not fly very far away but as soon as they land they disappear again.

Grasshoppers eat mostly vegetation and some species can become pests.

They have an incomplete metamorphoses as when they hatch the young look like small wingless adults which grow progressively larger as they break out of one exoskeleton after the other until they reach adulthood.

In Africa and in other parts of the world where they occur in large numbers, grasshoppers can be an important source of proteins, minerals and vitamins especially in times of food shortage. 

This article was pubished in The Times on 8.12.10

Autumn - a time for rebirth and growth

Mediterranean meadow-saffron (Colchicum cupanni)

In Malta, as in many other parts of the world, the year is divided into four seasons. 

In temperate regions autumn is generally regarded as a melancholic season that announces the end of summer, the arrival of winter darkness and cold stormy weather. Most Maltese have been brought up with this idea when in actual fact autumn in Malta is a time of rebirth and growth.

In ecological terms the Maltese year can be divided into two approximately equal seasons; the wet season and the dry season. Autumn is the beginning of the rainy season which comes immediately after six months of heat and drought. 

The first autumn rains bring life back to the parched countryside changes from brown to green as the seeds of annual plants which had been dormant in the soil throughout the dry season start germinating. 

The rains also stimulate plants which survive the dry season as bulbs, corms or tubers to start growing again. Some species such as the Mediterranean meadow saffron (busieq) flowers a few days after the first rains. The flowers appear before the leaves emerge from underground. 

This gives these plants an advantage over other autumn flowering plants as they have to compete with fewer flowers to attract bees and other pollinating insects. The flowers of the meadow saffron are soon followed by others such as the autumn ladies tresses (ħajja u mejta tal-ħarifa) a small rare orchid. 

The list of autumn flowering plants includes the yellow-throated crocus (żagħfran selvaġġ) and, the autumn narcissus (narċis imwaħħar)

Carob trees (siġar tal-ħarrub), which are either male or female, flower from mid-October to mid-November. The flowers have a strong smell of decomposing vegetation which attracts flies which inadvertently carry pollen from one tree to another.

The rains also stimulate many species of fungi to put forth the fruiting bodies with which we are familiar. 

This article was published in The Times on 3.10.2010