Today you’ll explore the external anatomy of a grasshopper to learn how insects are built and how their body parts help them survive. Follow each step carefully and take your time observing what you see.
What Makes an Insect an Insect
Grasshoppers belong to the class Insecta. All insects share these traits:
- Three body regions: head, thorax, abdomen
- Six legs
- One pair of antennae
- Compound eyes
- Mouthparts for chewing or sucking
- Wings (usually one or two pairs)
- Spiracles along the abdomen for breathing
Your job today is to identify these parts and label them on your diagrams.
Materials You Need
- Lab apron, gloves, goggles
- Dissecting tray
- Forceps, scalpel, t-pins
- Magnifying glass
- Preserved grasshopper
- Worksheet or notebook page
Step-By-Step Dissection Instructions
1. Prepare Your Specimen
- Rinse the grasshopper with water.
- Place it in the dissecting tray on its side so you can see the whole body clearly.
2. Identify the Three Main Body Regions
Find and label:
- Head
- Thorax
- Abdomen
These should be marked on your diagram before moving on.
3. Examine the Head
Use your magnifying glass to locate these parts:
- Antennae
- Compound eyes
- Ocelli (three tiny simple eyes between the large eyes)
- Mouthparts:
- Labrum (upper lip)
- Mandibles (jaws)
- Maxillae (help cut food)
- Labium (lower lip)
- Palps (sensory feelers)
Then:
- Use forceps to carefully remove each mouthpart and place it in the correct spot on your data table.
4. Explore the Thorax
The thorax is the middle body section. Here you will find:
Legs
- Front and middle legs for walking
- Back legs for jumping
Remove one walking leg to identify:
- Coxa
- Femur (thick upper part)
- Tibia
- Tarsus
Remove one jumping leg and attach both legs to your data table.
Wings
Lift the wings to see:
- Forewings (tough and leathery)
- Hindwings (thin and used for flying)
5. Investigate the Abdomen
Look for:
Tympanic membrane
- The grasshopper’s “eardrum”
- Found on the first abdominal segment
Spiracles
- Small holes along the sides used for breathing
Use your magnifying glass to find them and label them on your diagram.
Male or Female?
Check the end of the abdomen:
- Female: has a pointed egg-laying tube (ovipositor)
- Male: rounded end that curves upward
Label the ovipositor on your diagram if your specimen has one.
After-Dissection Discussion Questions
Have students answer these in the comments section of the blog post:
- Which body part was the easiest to identify and why?
- What part of the grasshopper’s body was the most challenging to locate during the dissection?
- How does the structure of the jumping legs help the grasshopper survive in the wild? Give an example.
- What did you learn about how insects breathe by observing spiracles?
- Describe one thing about the grasshopper’s anatomy that surprised you.
- Why do you think insects have such specific mouthparts? How does this relate to what they eat?
- Male and female grasshoppers look different at the abdomen. Why might this difference be important for their life cycle?
- If you could compare the grasshopper’s body to a human’s, what’s one major similarity and one major difference?
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12 Responses
1. The anus was the easiest to identify in the grasshopper. This is because it is directly attached to the intestine, and looks incredibly easy to excise.
2. The part that was the most difficult to identify in the grasshopper was definitely the testes. I did not know whether or not they were ripped off when I took the exoskeleton apart.
3. Looking back, the structure of the jumping legs would likely help the grasshopper ascend a variety of heights. If I was a grasshopper and I was being hunted by a predator, the jumping legs would save my life if I located somewhere to ascend to.
4. I learned that they don’t have lungs, and instead rely on holes (spiracles) in their abdomen to provide oxygen to their blood.
5. The thing that surprised me the most was how small the mandibles were. They were so tiny, even with the magnifying glass I could not accurately make out what it was.
6. I think insects have so many varying mouthparts because of their diet. For example, the insect that we dissected has multiple mouthparts to digest plants, but this could change when you dissect a cockroach.
7. This could be important to their life cycle because it means that the male and female grasshoppers have a different role in reproducing and starting the life cycle again.
8. A major similarity is that the anus is near identical. In humans, the anus also appears to be directly detached from the large intestine. However, a major difference is that they rely on spiracles to reoxygenate their blood, while humans have a pair of lungs to reoxygenate their blood.
The antenna because it is literally in the front the labium because it is so tiny. the legs allow the grasshopper to escape from large predator or anything that is trying to eat it. Insects breathe through holes on their body sides, one location of the grasshopper is the ear which are found on is abdomen, because they’ve evolved to perfectly match their unique diets. Male and female look different at abdomen for reproduction. Both have segmented bodies with distinct regions (head, thorax, abdomen/torso) and use muscles for movement.
1. The easiest body part to identify was the antenna. It’s skinny, but its length is what makes it stand out, hence the reason why I think it was the easiest to identify.
2. The most challenging to locate was the parts of the mouth. The reason I found it so hard was because of the size of the grasshopper. The drawing examples that we got when we did the Grasshopper Dissection packet made it seem like the mouth was big, but really, it wasn’t.
3. The structure of the jumping legs help the grasshopper survive in the wild by having legs that can extend like humans. With our legs, we can extend it, like snapping, and so can grasshoppers, allowing quick movement which can save their life from predators.
4. Something I learned from how insects breathe is that they don’t use lungs to breathe? They actually use tiny openings from the abdomen, in which oxygen enters and carbon dioxide leaves.
5. A thing that surprised me about the grasshopper’s anatomy is the fact that grasshoppers don’t use lungs to breathe. As explained above, they use tiny openings on their abdomen, allowing oxygen to enter and releasing carbon dioxide.
6. I think insects have specific mouthparts because of the build of their head. The build of their heads kind of shape the way their mouthparts work, hence the reason why a grasshopper needs multiple parts for their mouth like humans, and also why they evolved their mouths to adjust to what they eat, like flowers and corn.
7. Male and female grasshoppers look different at the abdomen because they serve different functions. If females were to have male abdomens, then females wouldn’t be able to lay eggs because they don’t have the ovipositor that is required to lay eggs. If all female grasshopper abdomens were the same as the males’, then grasshoppers wouldn’t be able to reproduce, and that would end the existence of grasshoppers.
8. If I were to compare a grasshopper’s body to a human’s, a difference that I would see immediately is that they have a scale-like abdomen and wings, and a major similarity that I could see is that they have eyes, allowing vision, however their eyes may work differently than human vision.
The easiest to identify was the wings because they were super noticeable. On the other hand the most challenging to locate was the abdomen. The grasshoppers jumping legs help them survive in the wild by acting like a catapult to help escapes from predators. What I learned about the insects breathing by observing the spiracles is by looking at the tiny holes on the magnifying glass. One thing about the grasshopper’s anatomy that surprised me was the thorax because I never would have guessed it would be there. I think insects have specific mouth parts its because they probably need help making the food smaller, this relates to what they eat because some insects may eat chewy or hard things that need breaking down. Males and females may be different abdomens because females have a special ovipositor that is pointed, it is for egg laying, and egg laying and reproducing helps the life cycle keep going. A similarity humans and grasshoppers have is that we both have legs and arms that help for movement. A difference they have is that a humans skeleton is inside the skin but on the other hand a grasshoppers grow on the outside to shed and molt witch means to grow larger.
1. The legs and the head were the easiest to idenify because unlike the organs, they showed the most clearest in the human eye.
2. The organs, because they were all brown and mushy but they also were hard to idenify because they were very unclear.
3. Because it would help them get from place to place, like a car with tons of gas on a roadtrip, the gas is inevidable to helping getting from place to place.
4. their spiracles are along their abdomen and their thorax which may help them breath better.
5. Is that they had two eyes, named simple eye, and compound eye.
6. I believe it has to do with which types of species the bug is and with how their mouth is built and what they can and can’t eat.
7. maybe it would be important because if all of their abdomens were the same, the spieces rate of the same abdomen is 100% and there would be nothing unique about their abdomen.
8. One major similarity is the eye placement, but the major difference is that their spiracles are placed more differently then a humans.
1. The abdomen was the easiest to identify becasue you were able to see everything in its body, like how things connect and all the blood vessels and things like that.
2. The most challenging part to locate was trying to cut the exoskeleton from the back of the head without damaging the brain and other things.
3. The legs can help the grasshopper live for example the legs can help the grasshopper move quick away from birds and other things tryna eat it.
4. The grasshopper has holes that it breaths from in its sides of its body.
5. the part that most suprised me was that the grasshoppers heart is not on his front its on its back and it is very weird shaped and goes all over its head and tail.
6. It can relate to what they eat because it could be hard to eat it or it helps catch food from them.
7. When they repraduce it can be important that there abdomen are different because the female cant carry the eggs if they are the same.
8. There is a major difference between a humans body compared to a grasshoppers body with all the organs being in different spots and shapes.
The body part that was the easiest to identify was the head of the grasshopper. The part of the grasshopper’s body was the most challenging to locate during the dissection was the simple eye of the grasshoppers head. For example, the structure of the jumping legs help the grasshopper escape predators (like birds or lizards), find food, and find mates in their terrestrial environment. Something I learned about how insects breathe by observing spiracles is that some insects breath through tiny holes on the sides of their bodies called spiracles, that’s how grasshoppers breath. One thing about the grasshopper’s anatomy that surprised me is that their ears, or tympana, are located on their abdomen rather than their head. I think insects have such specific mouthparts because evolution has perfectly tailored them for accessing particular food sources. Male and female grasshoppers look different at the abdomen because females have a pointed ovipositor while males have a blunter end. If I could compare the grasshopper’s body to a human’s, one major similarity and one major difference is that both have segmented bodies with jointed limbs for movement, but a key difference is that humans have an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) with bones, while grasshoppers have an external skeleton (exoskeleton) made of chitin.
The easiest body part to identify was the head. I was able to observe their mouth parts, eyes, and antennae. It was the easiest because it was simple to tell which part was what. The stomach was the hardest to locate during the dissection because the internal organs shared the same color palette, making it hard to distinguish them. The structure of the legs possibly made it easier for the grasshopper to escape from predators and have a fast way of transportation. For example, if they are getting chased, they could use their legs to leap and flee from danger. I observed the grasshopper’s spiracles, which are holes that help the insect to breathe without the need for lungs. I learned that insects do not rely on an organ to live and breathe. The grasshopper’s anatomy surprised me a lot because it’s very different from a human’s body. For example, a lot of organs humans rely on, like the lungs, grasshoppers do not need. Insects have different mouth parts depending on what they eat. An insect could be a herbivore, only eating plants or fruits, not needing stronger mouth parts. A female grasshopper’s abdomen is different than a male grasshopper’s. This difference is important because females need to lay eggs, meaning they will need a bigger abdomen. One major similarity is that humans and grasshoppers both have a skeleton. However, a difference in the skeleton is that grasshoppers have an exoskeleton, meaning it is external. A human’s skeleton is inside the body.
The easiesr part to identify was the head because the head was the most visible.The grasshopper’s body was the most challenging to locate during the dissection were the organs, and the ears for me. The structure of the jumping legs help the grasshopper catch food such as insects. It also help grasshoppers to be able to collect materials. I think different types of animals have different mouths because every animal eat different things, for example animals that have big mouths eat bigger insects, or animal. And for smaller mouths they get smaller food. The abdominal differences in male and female grasshoppers are crucial for reproduction. One major similarity and one major difference are our bodies have organs as well as a grasshoppers. A major difference is that our body’s is not built like a grasshoppers.
1.The easiest to identify was the wings because they were super noticeable.
2. On the other hand the most challenging to locate was the abdomen.
3. The grasshoppers jumping legs help them survive in the wild by acting like a catapult to help escapes from predators.
4. What I learned about the insects breathing by observing the spiracles is by looking at the tiny holes on the magnifying glass.
5.One thing about the grasshopper’s anatomy that surprised me was the thorax because I never would have guessed it would be there.
6. I think insects have specific mouth parts its because they probably need help making the food smaller, this relates to what they eat because some insects may eat chewy or hard things that need breaking down.
7. Males and females may have different abdomens because females have a special ovipositor that is pointed, it is for egg laying, and egg laying and reproducing helps the life cycle keep going.
8. A similarity humans and grasshoppers have is that we both have legs and arms that help for movement. A difference they have is that a humans skeleton is inside the skin but on the other hand a grasshoppers grow on the outside to shed and molt witch means to grow larger.
1. The body part that was easiest to identify was the antennas. The antennas were easy to identify because they were on the head near the big eyes. The part that was most challenging was the mouth pieces. I could not get apart the mouth because they were small and I couldn’t see. The structure of the jumping legs help the grasshopper survive in the wild by helping the grasshopper get to difficult places to escape predators. For example, when there’s an unexpected predator they have a fast escape. They breathe via tiny body holes leading to internal tubes for breathing. Its ears are located on its abdomen, not its head. I think insects have such specific mouth parts so they can digest food more easily. This difference is important for their life cycle because female grasshoppers can reproduce.
I think the easiest thing to identify is the antena becaquse it is in the front of their head. The grasshopers hardest body part to loacte during dissection for me was the blood vessel. The legs help them jump higher to escape from prededors.I learned that they don’t breath through there mouth like us and that they breath through the holes in the side of there body. One thing that surprised me was that its ears are not on the head they are in its abdomen. Insects eat so many things they need special mouths. Woman and male abdomen are different because woman have something to help them lay there eggs and the males don’t. If I compare grasshopper to a human a similarity is that they both have a heart and a difference they have is that grasshoppers have antennas and humans don’t.