“I saw it was something really special,” she said. “A pink grasshopper.”
Madeline’s father, Tony Landecker, read her an article a year ago about the rarity of pink grasshoppers, she said.
“You don’t usually get to see a pink grasshopper,” she said.
She gently picked up the bright pink and green insect and noticed that it was missing a leg. She decided to keep it and study it.
“I like to take in the bugs when they are injured so they can rest until they feel better, then I let them go,” Madeline said.
She carefully took the grasshopper away to show it to her father and her little brother Levi, 8 years old.
“I couldn’t believe she found one,” her father said.
Landecker quickly took a few photos of her daughter with the pink hopper so Madeline could send them to her mother, Bridget Landecker, who was out of town.
“I called her Millie, because I’m pretty sure she’s a girl,” Madeline said. “I studied what male and female grasshoppers look like.”
She placed the pink bug in a terrarium with plenty of prairie grass to eat, then set off to find a friend to keep the grasshopper company.
“I found a little brown and black grasshopper and I named her Billie,” she said. “I thought they might be good friends.”
The next day, Madeline said she took Millie to school in a bug carrier to show her off.
“Some kids were afraid of her, and so were some teachers,” she said. “Some people just don’t like insects. But I was always interested in them.
Her father alerted local TV station KARK about the grasshopper, and Madeline quickly showed Millie on the evening news.
“I basically catch all sorts of things and I was happy to show Millie to people,” she said.
Although pink grasshoppers are not common, they are not as rare as you might think, said Hojun Song, an entomology professor at Texas A&M University.
People in Pennsylvania and Texas made headlines last year for seeing one.
“What is rare is that these pink insects survive to adulthood, because they are more visible to predators than normal green or brown insects. [grasshoppers] which are more enigmatic,” Song said.
The rosy larvae suffer from a disease called erythrism, a genetic mutation that causes overproduction of red pigment, he explained, noting that because the insects are not well camouflaged, they are more likely to be eaten.
The average lifespan of a grasshopper is about two months, but they can survive for a few years in terrariums.
“I’m not ready to release her yet, because I want to study her more and do research,” Madeline said.
Bridget Landecker said her daughter always loved looking under rocks and digging in streams to observe the natural world.
“She has always been drawn to the outdoors and is truly devoted to all of her animals,” Bridget said.
Madeline and her brother care for two dogs, two cats, a rabbit and nine chickens at home, and they run a small egg stand, she said.
Madeline said she had already grown attached to her smallest pet. She said Millie stayed on her hand and rarely jumped while her parents took quick photos.
“I have a lot of practice holding insects, so she feels comfortable with me,” she said.
Madeline said she took Millie with her to the family cabin for a few days during spring break for a change of scenery from the Grasshopper.
“I love the shack because I catch suckers myself with a black net, and I also catch a bunch of crawfish and minnows,” she said. “Later this week I’ll go crystal hunting.”
She will leave Millie at home in her warm terrarium for this expedition.
“If I could, I would keep her forever,” Madeline said.
