An insect's mouthparts are a clue to what it eats. The mouthpart is made especially for the type of food the insect eats. Butterflies have mouthparts formed like a straw for sucking nectar from flowers. Flies have mouthparts formed like a sponge to soak up liquids. Mosquitoes have needle-like mouthparts for piercing skin before sucking blood.
Grasshoppers have mouthparts similar to a human's mouth to help chew plants.
Look at Those Legs Take a look at an insect's legs to learn about its lifestyle. Often you can use the legs to learn where an insect lives, how it moves about or how it defends itself. Mole crickets have muscular legs with claw-like structures at the end for digging underground. Grasshoppers have legs that are elongated and muscular for jumping. Spikes cover a cockroach's legs to enable it to climb and to protect it from predators.