Destivelle The Grasshopper

An unexpected guest settles in for a long winter stay

- Shannon Hastings

Two winters ago, in January, I received an unexpected house guest. Deep within the recesses of a bag of organic Californian kale, which I had taken out of the fridge to chop up for dinner one night, was a three-inch grasshopper that had survived being in the fridge for two weeks before being found. Struck with trepidation at the sight of a bag of produce that was moving— yes, I squealed and jumped back in surprise—I regained my composure once I realized the insect was not a massive cockroach. I caught the grasshopper in a two-litre glass jar, but didn’t know what to do next. I knew I could not just put the grasshopper outside, since it would mean a certain death in our cold and snowy climate; nor could I bring myself to end its life outright by my own hand. So, I scattered kale in the glass jar and hoped an answer would come to me the next day.