Candy on Legs | Hybrid Pink & Green Grasshoppers 4

More about erythrism in The Pink Grasshopper | A Story About Being Different

Candy on Legs

Nature is full of little wonders, and I’m still amazed by the surprises it has in store, both big and small. Take something like a pink grasshopper, for example! You couldn’t make that up, could you?!

Grasshoppers are usually green, brown or grey, and for good reason. That way – vulnerable as they are – they stand out the least on a blade of grass, a tree or a rock. So why on earth invent a bright pink version?
Was it one of the Universe’s more creative moments? Had Mother Nature had one too many? Did Darwin have a secret pink fetish or does the Great Designer of Nature simply have a good sense of humour?

Because honestly… Where on earth is a pink grasshopper supposed to hide? Ever seen a pink blade of grass, a pink tree trunk or a pink rock?! I rest my case.
Like a walking stick of candy, it hops through a world painted entirely green, practically shouting: “Come and get me!” And yet, strangely enough, this bizarre design seems to work surprisingly well, judging by the number of pink grasshoppers I’ve encountered over the years.

They Come in Colors

But it gets even crazier. As if one unlikely design wasn’t extraordinary enough, Mother Nature managed to outdo herself. Why settle for pink…when you can have pink and green?
You might expect a gentle blend, a soft pastel pink with a hint of green, but no… each limb a different colour!
The result is a marvellous patchwork of pink wings, a green stripe along its back, pink eyes and all sorts of other unexpected ‘flavours’.

Still sounds fairly normal? Now imagine a person with snow-white albino hair, a deep brown face, freckled white body, brown arms, one blue eye and one green eye. How cool would that be? Racism probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance anymore, as suddenly everything would be a lot less black and white. Or should I say green and pink. Come to think of it, nature does have some pretty good ideas sometimes!