Belongs to: grasshoppers and crickets
Compare with: common green grasshopper
Meadow grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus
Best time to see: late Jun to Oct
Key facts
A grasshopper found in numbers in any sunlit grassland, provided it is not cut too short or too often
Grasshoppers, unlike bush-crickets, have short antennae and are diurnal and vegetarian
Powerful hind legs allow it to leap to safety when threatened
Recognition
Predominantly green, but often with grey or brown stripes on the side of the abdomen; up to 25mm
Short wings, rarely reaching beyond the end of the body
Call consists of a sequence of repeated notes, repeated again every 3–4 seconds
Lifecycle
Eggs are laid into the soil in summer and hatch the following spring
Adults are present from late June onwards
- photo
© Tony Gunton