Graveyard grasshopper nearly puts writer in graveyard 

By: Glynn Harris

The book calls them “lubber” grasshoppers. Around here, we know them by another name, “graveyard” grasshoppers. 

These oversized grasshoppers are not our friends as, according to the book, “they are voracious plant eaters that can quickly strip and destroy gardens, vegetable crops and ornamental landscaping.” 

You’ll know one when you see it; they’re oversized, much larger than a regular grasshopper and are brightly colored in yellow, orange and red. Because of their size, they don’t hop like regular ones; they try but they can’t get their big bodies off the ground to hop. 

If I see one, I send it on to glory with a quick stomp; they are not good for my wife’s plants. 

According to the book, you can touch one of these creatures without being bitten but handling them triggers a loud hiss and a foul-smelling, irritating spray.