Do You Hear the Grasshopper?

I wonder how many miles I ran as a kid chasing grasshoppers, trying to catch them?  It was like a sport to me.  Maybe that's a little crazy, but I was fascinated with them and enjoyed the challenge.

I've baited quite a few fish hooks with grasshoppers.  There are different theories as to the best way to hook them; do you slide it under the pronotum, that shield-looking thing on their neck or, do you stab them through the thorax just in front of the back legs?  Then, do you let them float on the surface, or do you use a weight that causes them to sink?  I've caught fish with every one of those techniques.

My grandchildren like to chase them too.  Usually, it is for the purpose of baiting a hook, but one granddaughter in particular just likes to catch them and might come up with a handful.  I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't end up in some biological field some day.  If it isn't bugs in her hands it is flowers.

I remember a television show from many years ago called Kung Fu*, starring David Carradine.  In the series, Caine has flashbacks to his childhood training where Master Po calls him "Grasshopper."  That is what I remember most about the series.  I searched the Internet and found why -- it comes from a scene in the pilot series of a conversation between Master and student:

Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Caine: No.
Po: Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?
Caine: Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?

Now, as a rancher, grasshoppers are a nuisance.  They eat the grass that I want available for the cows.  I wonder how many grasshoppers it takes to eat as much as a cow?  Grandpa always told me 5 jackrabbits ate as much as a cow.  Oh, well.  I just know they can swarm across a pasture and strip the leaves from the grass, leaving hard stems which are not particularly palatable or, nutritious.

There is much to be learned about the role of grasshoppers in the environment.  Historically, we have looked at them simply as a pest because our primary concern is with massive outbreaks that devastate large swaths of plant life.  Now, we are learning they play a critical part in nutrient cycling and the control of certain plant species that might take over an area otherwise.  They also are an important food source for wildlife.  Some folks even think they could be a food source for people.  I have eaten chocolate-covered grasshopper before; I wasn't impressed.  It was a little crunchy and reminded me too much of it being a, well, grasshopper.  In spite of their nuisance value, they fit into an ecological system in ways that we don't fully understand.  

Chemical control has been the primary way we combat major outbreaks of the flying hoppers.  It apparently isn't very effective or, we wouldn't have to repeat the process every few years.  Monoculture agriculture may be one factor that contributes to those outbreaks.  Strip-cropping might help to break the continuity of plant species and mitigate some of the impact.  Deny the food source and break the outbreak.  Most things have management solutions rather than the more drastic reactive measures normally taken.  Prevention is always preferred over dealing with crisis.

It reminds me of Franklin-Covey Time Management -- spend time on the "important" and much of the "critical" goes away....

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(TV_series)