Order Orthoptera - Crickets, Grasshoppers and Locusts

• Field Cricket
• Jerusalem Cricket
• Desert Locust
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Mouthparts for biting. Hind legs usually enlarged and modified for jumping. Tarsi nearly always 3-4 jointed. Thorax generally with two pairs of wings, the front pair tough and leathery, although one or both pairs may be reduced or absent. Cerci present, but often short and inconspicuous. Female with a well developed ovipositor, usually protruding from the tip of the abdomen and visible externally (used for egg-laying). Simple metamorphosis. A large Order, with over 17,000 described species, but represented in the British Isles by only 30 species. Orthoptera fall into two principal large groups:

(a) Crickets, including Mole Crickets, Bush Crickets (sometimes called Long-horned Grasshoppers) and Cave Crickets (families Gryllidae, Gryllotalpidae, Tettigonidae, Rhaphidophoridae and their allies). These are mostly omnivorous and live on or under the ground, although Bush Crickets are often vegetarian, feeding on the leaves of trees and bushes, and occasionally they become minor pests of agricultural crops. A few species are predatory, feeding on other insects.The males of most species stridulate ('chirp' or 'sing') by rubbing together modified areas of the forewings. Both sexes have auditory organs in the front legs.

(b) Short-horned Grasshoppers and Locusts (Acrididae and their allies). These are mainly plant feeders and many, besides the notorious Locusts, are serious pests of agriculture. Antennae, cerci and female ovipositor, much shorter than those of Crickets. In the majority of species, both sexes (but especially the males) stridulate by rubbing the hind legs against the forewings, and they have an auditory organ at the base of the abdomen.

Description. Up to 20 mm long. Mostly black (male) or very dark brown (female) in colour, with dark brown forewings. Hindwings vestigial, so they cannot fly. Female (illustrated) has a long, needle-like ovipositor protruding from the tip of the abdomen between the long cerci.

Biology. Found in dry grassland, fields and pastures. Lives in burrows and active mainly during the day. Eggs are laid singly in the soil and the full life cycle usually takes about a year.

Distribution. Most of southern and central Europe, but rare in Britain and confined to the southern counties of England.

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Adult female

Description. Large wingless species, up to 25 mm long. Pale yellow in colour, with dark banding on the abdomen.

Biology. Sometimes called Sand Crickets due to their habit of digging in sandy soil. Omnivorous, but often cause damage to young plants.

Distribution. Southern and western parts of North America.

Photo: D. Dwight Davis ©

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Description. Large, fully winged species, up to 65 mm long. Green or yellowish-brown in colour, with darker markings on the wings and reddish legs. The picture opposite is a last instar nymph without fully-formed wings.

Biology. Locusts are large grasshoppers with strong powers flight. From time to time their populations explode and vast swarms emigrate from their population centres, often causing enormous damage to crops wherever they land. In the solitary, non-swarming phase they are relatively harmless, mainly feeding on grasses and other natural ground vegetation. The eggs are laid in groups of about a dozen or so under the soil and covered by a froth substance that hardens into a protective envelope or pod. The full life cycle lasts about a year, with four nymphal stages before the adult stage is reached.

Distribution. Asia and Central Africa. An occasional migrant to Europe and other northern regions.

Nymph or 'hopper'