HOPPERS

I've just managed to find a little time to sort through some of the photographs that I've taken over the last few months and decided that I had enough to do this post on .....Grasshoppers.

There are around 8,500 species of Grasshopper worldwide, of which only 30 are resident in the U.K. 

Here are a few!

 The Common Green Grasshopper  (omocestus viridulus)

As the name suggests this grasshopper can be found  throughout the U.K. from July to October, where its preferred habitat is lush grassland.  The female is always green on top but otherwise they can be any combination of  brown, grey or green. The song is a fluctuating hiss lasting for between 10 to 20 seconds, rising to full volume about half way through before ending abruptly.

 Female

This male I've called "Pogo"......

.....because if you turn him around he's only got one hind leg!

 However it didn't seem to hamper his jumping ability as he was soon off and away!

And I've got to admit that I didn't notice his missing appendage untill I got home and downloaded the photographs from the camera!

The Meadow Grasshopper (chorthippus parallelus) is a flightless species with short forewings and no hindwings. Common throughout the U.K. this grasshopper is usually green with brown wings, but occasionally a completely green or brown specimen can be found, and sometimes, the female can show a distinct pink hue.

The song is said to resemble the sound of a sewing machine running in 2-3 second bursts, repeated every 5-15 seconds. It can be found in, mostly damp, areas of grassland from June to October.

Male

Male

Female

Copulating  Pair

The Field Grasshopper  (chorthippus brunnes)   found throughout the U.K. from June to October this dry grassland loving species can be green, grey but more usually brown in colour. It's song is a short series of 6 to 10 chirps likened to time signal pips.

And finally......a Bush Cricket.  These insects are distinguished from Grasshoppers  by their hair like antennae (often much longer than their body). The female has a blade like ovipositor which in some cases is longer than her body.

Roesel's Bush Cricket  (metrioptera roeselii)  Mostly found in the southern part of the U.K. in lush grassland between June and November. Although normally short winged, long winged forms sometime occur during hot summers. The song sounds like long bursts of a dentist's drill.