Grasshopper
Grasshoppers eat large quantities of foliage both as adults and during their development, and can be serious pests of arid land and prairies. Pasture, grain, forage, vegetable and other crops can be affected. Grasshoppers often bask in the sun, and thrive in warm sunny conditions, so drought stimulates an increase in grasshopper populations. A single season of drought is not normally sufficient to stimulate a major population increase, but several successive dry seasons can do so, especially if the intervening winters are mild so that large numbers of nymphs survive. Although sunny weather stimulates growth, there needs to be an adequate food supply for the increasing grasshopper population. This means that although precipitation is needed to stimulate plant growth, prolonged periods of cloudy weather will slow nymphal development.
Groundhog
Very often the dens of groundhogs provide homes for other animals including skunks, red foxes, and cottontail rabbits. The fox and skunk feed upon field mice, grasshoppers, beetles and other creatures that destroy farm crops. In aiding these animals, the groundhog indirectly helps the farmer. In addition to providing homes for itself and other animals, the groundhog aids in soil improvement by bringing subsoil to the surface. The groundhog is also a valuable game animal and is considered a difficult sport when hunted in a fair manner. In some parts of Appalachia, they are eaten.