Ohl: Chaws
Have you ever picked up a grasshopper and had it “spit tobacco” on your finger? It usually was not actually tobacco, but it could be as they eat plant leaves and tobacco is a favorite. The spitting is a defense mechanism they use when feeling threatened as in being picked up. The brown liquid is a combination of saliva, digestive enzymes, and partially digested plants. It is acidic, smelly, disgusting and can stain the skin making it a potent combination to deter predators.
Want to read the full article? Full access to lakecitygraphic.com is only $52 per year. Print subscriptions are $58 for Wabasha and Goodhue county residents and $80 anywhere else in the continental U.S. To begin, click here. Already a subscriber? Log in or request an account below.