Common Green Grasshopper
Omocestus viridulus (Linn.)
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The Order Orthoptera consists of around 17,000 species worldwide, with over 50 having been recorded in Britain (at least 20 of these being occasional migrants, or established aliens). They can be divided into four main groups; the grasshoppers, groundhoppers, bush-crickets and the 'true' crickets.
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Common Green Grasshopper |
Grasshoppers (Acridae) are mainly vegetarian, are active in sunshine or warm weather and have short antennae. They 'sing' by rubbing their hind legs against their forewings. One of these has pegs on it, the other a hard ridge. Rubbing the pegs against the ridge produces the noise. Their hearing organs are on the sides of the body. The songs described in the species descriptions on this site are of courting males, although the larger females may also have a quieter answering song.
Grasshoppers do not have the long ovipositors found in the bush-crickets. They push their abdomen into the soil to lay their eggs.
Groundhoppers (Tetrigidae) are similar to grasshoppers, but their pronotum extends over the top of the abdomen and sometimes much further. They are vegetarian, have short antennae, and do not sing. They are active in sunshine and adults may be found throughout the year in warm weather. There are three species in Britain.
Crickets can be divided into the Bush-crickets (Tettigoniidae) and the 'True' Crickets (Gryllidae). Bush-cricket species are either carnivorous or omnivorous. Some true crickets are vegetarian, although most are omnivorous. The majority of crickets are most active at dusk or at night.
'True' crickets are brown to black in colour and never green as in the bush-crickets. Their bodies are round in section rather than laterally compressed and the majority of native species are also ground dwellers. Another difference from bush-crickets is that 'true' crickets rub their right forewing over their left during stridulation, while in bush-crickets the left wing is rubbed over the right.
Crickets usually have very long antennae. Unlike grasshoppers they do not produce their song with their hind legs and wings, but rub the base of their forewings together instead. The resulting song is often higher pitched than those of the grasshoppers. The hearing organs of crickets are on their front legs.
Unlike the majority of other British bush-crickets the Oak Bush-cricket Meconema thalassinum does not sing, but rapidly 'drums' using a hind leg.
Another difference from grasshoppers is the knife-like ovipositor of the females. These are used either to cut slits in plants to lay their eggs, or to lay their eggs in the ground. The ovipositors of true crickets are more needle-like than those of the bush-crickets.
NB. The Orthoptera 'Species decriptions' section of 'Wildguide UK' deals with grasshoppers, groundhoppers and bush-crickets.
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Bibliography
Bellman, H., A Field Guide to the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Britain and Northern Europe. (Collins, 1988)
Brown, V.K., Grasshoppers.Naturalists Handbooks 2, (Cambridge University Press, 1983)
Chinery, M., A Field Guide to the Insects of Britain and Northern Europe. (1973, Collins)
Chinery, M., Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe. (1986, Collins)
Evans, M. and Edmondson, R., A Photographic Guide to the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Britain and Ireland (2007, WGUK)
Mahon, A., Grasshoppers and Bush-crickets (1988, Shire Natural History)
Marshall, J.A. and Haes,E.C.M., Grasshoppers and allied Insects of Great Britain and Ireland. (1988, Harley Books)
Ragge, D.R., Grasshoppers, Crickets and Cockroaches of the British Isles (1965, Warne)
To access the photographs please click 'Grasshoppers' or 'Crickets' on the header
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