What we found is that grasshoppers produce a brownish liquid which some people called "tobacco juice". Exactly why the material came to sometimes be called tobacco juice is not known. However, it does resemble, in color and consistency, the spit produced by people who chew tobacco.
Sources suggest that the grasshopper tobacco juice is a combination of partially-digested plant material and digestive enzymes.
As per Dr. Stuart Green, an entomologist at Cambridge University, the liquid is a substance the grasshopper secretes as a defense mechanism against some possible predators. The secretion is not made from tobacco but comes from a special gland.
Grasshoppers are both beloved characters in children's stories and despised pests that plague farmers and ranchers. Although they are one of the insects we encounter nearly every day, most people know very little about them.
Check out these 10 fascinating facts about grasshoppers shared by Thoughtco.com.