Winter is upon us poor Zimbabweans, and as always there is something in flower. This time it is the red hot pokers in my garden. Hmmmm - I wonder why they call these flowers 'red hot pokers' - because they aren't hot at all. In fact they were very cold with the morning dew....
This is another pic of the red hot pokers - but can you see something strange here?
Of course you spotted the clump of grasshoppers hanging onto the stalk of one of the plants.
This is what they look like close up.....
Later on in the afternoon I found the same group of grasshoppers on the grass - still all huddled together. This is a defense mechanism because they walk around in a bunch (first person to give me the correct collective noun for a clompie/group/bunch of grasshoppers gets their name published in the next blog!) and they look like a large animal - so much so that the birds leave them alone. The ones at the back walk over the ones in the group until they are at the front, and then they get walked over by the others. As they are at the bottom of the heap, they eat the grass, until it is time for them to move forwards again. So the mass moves slowly around the garden.
This is the same bunch - after I waved my hand over them a few times.
It was all very funny to see them scatter - but unfortunately a bird came and ate them all up once they were on their own. Nature can be so cruel at times!
Just kidding - have a nice day!
According to several sources, a group of grasshoppers is called a Cloud. :-)
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