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Meadow and hedgerow · Grasshoppers, crickets, mantises and stick insects
Field grasshopper
Chorthippus brunneus
A brown, grey or mottled grasshopper with short antennae and long back legs. It is very hairy underneath.
- Size
- About 2cm long
- Look for it
- June to October
- Where
- Dry, short, sunny grass: lawns, verges, dunes and waste ground
My spotter's list
Hops after you in long jumps. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the grasshopper
SongIt sings with its legs
The male rubs a row of tiny pegs on his back leg against his wing, like a comb on a card.
ChirpShort, sharp chirps
Its song is a string of brief chirps, about one every two seconds, like a clock being wound.
EarsEars on its belly
A grasshopper hears with a thin drum of skin on each side of its body, just behind the back legs.
JumpA catapult in its knees
It stores energy in a springy part of the knee and lets it go all at once.
FlyIt can fly too
On a hot day a field grasshopper will fly several metres when disturbed.
EggsEggs in the soil
The female lays her eggs in a foam pod in bare ground. Only the eggs survive the winter.
The real thing
Photos of the grasshopper
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
On a warm afternoon, walk slowly through short dry grass and watch for one to jump. Then crouch and listen: the others will give themselves away.
Lend a handHow to help
Leave some bare, sun-baked soil among the grass. It is where the eggs are laid.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
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The log pile
After dark
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