Skip to the content
Good to know
Six things about the grasshopper
SongSinging with its legs
Grasshoppers "sing" by rubbing a row of tiny pegs on their back legs against the edge of their wings.
EarsEars on its tummy
A grasshopper's ears are on the sides of its body, just behind the back legs.
JumpChampion jumper
Those big back legs can launch it many times its own body length in a single leap.
AntennaeGrasshopper or cricket?
Grasshoppers have short antennae. Crickets have very long ones, often longer than their bodies.
FoodGrass eaters
Field grasshoppers mostly eat grasses, as the name suggests.
WinterEggs in the soil
The adults die in autumn. Their eggs wait in the soil through winter and hatch in spring.
The real thing
Photos of the grasshopper
Out and aboutHow to spot one
Walk slowly through short, dry grass on a sunny day and watch for them springing away from your feet. Listen for the short, chirping song.
Lend a handHow to help
Leave a sunny patch of lawn unmown through the summer. They need grass of different heights, and bare ground to lay their eggs in.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
Bees and hoverflies
Butterflies and moths
Dragonflies and damselflies
Beetles, hoppers and ants
Not insects at all
Snails and spiders aren't insects: a snail is a mollusc, and spiders have eight legs.
Garden birds
Pond animals live on the Pond page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond life
Night garden
Seashore animals live on the Seashore page: choosing one takes you there.
Rock pool life
Woodland animals
Under a log
Meadow life
River animals live on the River page: choosing one takes you there.
River life
