Hatched in the spring, eastern lubber grasshoppers are now adult
and easily visible around south Louisiana and nine other
Southern states. But they won’t leap or fly at you or away from
you. Lubbers are too big for more than a clumsy jump, and their
wings are too small to fly, said Tim Schowalter, head of the
entomology department at the LSU AgCenter in Baton Rouge. The
bugs don’t have to rush out of harm’s way because they’re toxic,
sickening the birds and mammals that eat them. When handled by
humans or other creatures, they have the disgusting “tobacco
spit” habit common to grasshoppers, regurgitating a dark brown
liquid that’s actually recently eaten leaves or flowers. They
also hiss and bubble toxic foam around their hind legs,
Schowalter said. Still, he said, the bugs are harmless to people
who pick them up. In large numbers, according to the University
of Florida extension service, they can damage crops or
decorative plants, especially amaryllis. But they tend to be
solitary. “I’ve never seen enough in