It's not often that we see such colourful grasshoppers in the suburbs, let alone the city. My nephew (that's his hand) spotted this one in a field near Yzerfontein, a small town on the West Coast.

It's hard to believe that this friendly little fellow could one day purposefully drown himself. Nematamorpha larvae are parasites sometimes found on grasshoppers. As these worms (known as Horsehair worms) grow and mature, they somehow influence the grasshopper's brain, causing it to seek and jump into the nearest pond. Take a look at this video if you're interested in watching the full story.