1851. 44.

Title

1851. 44.

Description

Detailed representation of a stick insekt, so called grashopper.

ca. 1851

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

The grasshoppers (Orthoptera) are an order of insects. The grasshoppers are divided into two easily distinguishable groups, the long-footed grasshoppers (Ensifera) and short-footed grasshoppers (Caelifera). The term "grasshopper" is documented in Old High German and goes back to the Old High German verb schrecken "(to) jump". The jumping ability as the most striking characteristic is also used in other names such as jumping grasshopper, jumping cock, grasshopper, hayhopper or hay bungler. A total of 12 species of grasshopper are known as migratory grasshoppers. Even in prehistoric times, human settlements were infested by voracious swarms of migratory locusts. One of the earliest depictions, an Egyptian tomb painting from the 15th century BC, shows a locust on a papyrus flower. Beginning with the Egyptian plague described in the 2nd book of Moses (Exodus), locusts are mentioned 30 times in the Bible alone. The insects were also known to the Aztecs long before the arrival of the Europeans. One in four of the more than 1000 species of grasshopper native to Europe is considered an endangered species. The most important causes of endangerment include the intensification of agriculture, the increasing number of fires in the Mediterranean region as well as urbanization and the development of coasts and mountains for tourism.