I was headed to our basement, to toss a load of towels in the washing machine when I noticed a small light green grasshopper had landed on one of the panes of glass on our back door. It’s little legs were glued to the glass as it looked out towards our back yard.
“Well, aren’t you the cutest little guy.” I said as I got closer. That’s when I noticed the top of its thorax was pulsing. “Hey Alex!” I called to my son. “You’re not going to believe this but I think I’m looking at a grasshopper’s heart beating!”
“What?” Alex sounded confused as he came over to where I was standing. “What are you talking about?”
“Look!” I pointed to the grasshoppers belly. We both watched as the pulse started at the top of his thorax and made it’s way down to the bottom.
“It’s the entire length of his body.” Alex said. “It can’t be his heartbeat.”
I dropped the load of towels on the floor and reached in my back pocket to get my phone. “I think you might be right. But what could it be doing?” I went to my Google app and began typing.
I stopped typing for a second and looked up to see that the grasshopper had noticed us. He’d turned his head to look at us as one of his antenna brushed against the glass. “Don’t move little guy, we’re in the middle of a science lesson here!”
I kept typing until finally I got my answer. “That’s his air sacs that are moving!” I cried as I looked over at Alex. “We’re watching him breath!” I shook my head in disbelief. “Can you believe it?”
Alex shrugged his shoulders. “That seems reasonable.” He got up closer to the glass. “It is pretty interesting, though.”
The grasshopper turned his head back to face the yard.
I put the phone back in my back pocket and scooped up the load of towels I’d dropped on the floor. “I never realized how intricate their little bodies were.” I took one last look at the grasshopper. “Enjoy the rest of your summer!” I whispered to him before I headed down the stairs to start the laundry.
“Now that you see how intricate an insect is, you can understand why I never kill a spider when it’s in the house.” Alex called down to me.
I shuttered and stopped on the steps. Turning around I looked up at him. “Spiders are a completely different story.” I corrected him.
Alex laughed. “Why?” He pointed to the grasshopper. “Spiders bodies are just as intricate as grasshoppers.”
“But grasshoppers are cute.” I shuttered again. “Spiders are just icky!”
Alex laughed harder. “Is that the actual scientific term?”
“Yes.” I said as I continued down the stairs. “Anything that has the name spider attached to it is icky.”
“What else has a spider name attached to it?” Alex asked as he followed me down the stairs.
I stopped at the laundry room and tossed the towels on the floor before turning around. “Jiminy Cricket is adorable, right?”
Alex looked confused. “Jiminy Cricket is a cartoon.”
I held up my hand. “Just hear me out.” I reached in my back pocket for my phone and began typing. When the photo I wanted came up I turned it around for him to see. “But spider crickets are more than icky. They’re downright creepy.”
Alex eyebrows went up. “That is pretty creepy looking.” He agreed.
I slipped the phone back in my pocket, nodding my head for emphasis. “So that’s the difference between all other insects and anything to do with spiders.”
Alex shook his head as he stood in the doorway while I loaded the washing machine. “Spiders still deserve to live.”
“I didn’t say they didn’t.” I reached for the laundry soap on the shelf above the washing machine. “I’m just saying when a spider needs to be rescued…” I looked over at him and smiled. “I’m calling you.”
Slice of Life 