What is the life-cycle of a grasshopper or a cricket?
Life-cycle of almost every insect is called METAMORPHOSIS. In complete metamorphosis, a clear distinction exists between the various stages of the animal’s development. In the first phase, an embryo forms inside an egg. When the egg hatches, the animal is called a larva. During the next period, the larva changes into a pupa. At the end of the pupal stage, the adult emerges. Animals that grow in this way include many fishes, mollusks, and insects. In incomplete metamorphosis, the young resembles the adult. The animal’s form gradually changes through molting, or shedding. An example is the grasshopper, which only passes through three stages, having no pupal period. Grasshoppers are 3 to 13 cm (1 to 5 in) long when fully grown. They develop by gradual metamorphosis: The nymph is initially wingless and gradually comes to resemble the adult as it grows through progressive molts. Only the adults can fly. Some species undergo seasonal color changes, being green at some times and red or brown
