Freezing the grasshopper

Years ago when my children were little, we drove to a park 2 hours outside of Dallas where we witnessed an abundance of grasshoppers that thrived in the thickets. I caught one for the kids and we brought it home in a jar.

It was fun watching the guy. He watched us back too. The face-to-face experience helped us learn about each other. But eventually, the children and I got a little bored, and the grasshopper started acting listless. I lay him into my garden where he could die a peaceful death.

A year later, I had a grasshopper infestation in my flower garden. Nature was clearly out of balance due to my ignorance. So, I encouraged more birds to move in. I set out bird feeders with expensive, tasty seeds in order to attract them. This worked well because after feeding on the seeds, they would dive bomb into the shrubs and go after the grasshoppers. The infestation subsided and balance was restored.

Years later, during one of those dog days of summer, I saw another grasshopper in my garden and caught it again. Call it nostalgia. The temperature outside was in the upper 90s. Upon entering my house, which was a cool 72 degrees, the otherwise active grasshopper in my jar slowed down and became lethargic. The difference in temperatures was just too much for him. Long story short, this is a video of what happens when you take a grasshopper, chill him, and capture him on film.

I didn't let him back in the yard again after this video, by the way.