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.
Grasshopper (comics)
It is revealed that Grasshopper is in fact Doug Taggert, an employee of Roxxon Oil who pines after fellow Roxxon researcher Cindy Shelton, who in turn only has eyes for the "ever-gregarious Grasshopper" (thus setting up a classic comic-book style love triangle). Later, it is clarified that Grasshopper is "part-time Roxxon security" who does "some super heroing on the side." Though it is never so stated, the implication is that Roxxon designed and built the gear which is the source of Grasshopper's powers. Soon, Grasshopper meets up with the GLA as they both try to stop a robbery being committed by Batroc's Brigade. During the battle, Grasshopper agrees to join up with the GLA and then, almost immediately, is killed by a sai thrown by the supervillain Zaran after it passed through teammate Doorman. As team sidekick Monkey Joe comments off-panel, "Five point eight seconds. A new record for shortest membership on ANY team."