{"id":14793,"date":"2022-03-23T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T06:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=53839"},"modified":"2022-03-29T11:05:23","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T09:05:23","slug":"grasshoppers-and-crickets-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/grasshoppers-and-crickets-all-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Grasshoppers and crickets: all you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jo Caird\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 23 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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What are grasshoppers and crickets?<\/h2>\n

Grasshoppers and crickets, including bush-crickets, are jumping insects belonging to the family Orthoptera. There are around 30 species of Orthoptera in the UK, 11 of which are grasshoppers.<\/p>\n

Where do grasshoppers and crickets live?<\/h2>\n

Orthoptera can be found across the British Isles but their preference for hot, dry weather means they are more widespread and plentiful in southern Britain. Grasshoppers, as the name suggests, are found in grassy places, while crickets have more diverse habitats. Forests, wetlands, caves, beaches and even underground holes can all be homes for crickets \u2013 as long as they can find food, water and shelter.<\/p>\n

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Crickets, like this speckled bush cricket, have a variety of habitats including forests and grasslands. \u00a9 Getty <\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

What do\u00a0grasshoppers and crickets\u00a0eat?<\/h2>\n

Grasshoppers are herbivorous, while crickets also eat other insects. In turn, birds and spiders are their primary predators, eating the eggs, nymphs and adult insects.<\/p>\n

How do you tell the difference between grasshoppers and crickets?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Appearance offers big clues: grasshoppers are sausage-shaped, with short antennae, while crickets come in different shapes and sizes but always have long, thread-like antennae. Grasshoppers are active during the middle of the day and crickets remain active into twilight.<\/p>\n

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Common green grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus). \u00a9 Getty <\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

What are the life-cycles?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Grasshopper and cricket larvae \u2013 known as nymphs \u2013 hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous summer by the females in damp substrate. After hatching, a nymph grows by shedding its hard exoskeleton several times (up to 10 times for crickets, typically five times for grasshoppers). Upon reaching adulthood, it may live for two months, mating and laying eggs before dying off in the autumn.<\/p>\n

How do crickets and grasshoppers sing? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Crickets sing, or stridulate, by rubbing their wings together, as captured here:<\/p>\n