Grasshopper Pictures

Many of the literally hundreds of different Orthoptera species are considered agricultural pests, making Orthoptera research a popular field in entomology.

Gardeners also dread the coming of grasshopper season because of the grasshopper's inclination to snack on most everything the gardener plants. Experts suggest tilling the garden soil during the fall, deep enough to expose the eggs pods to the elements. They can not withstand the cold of winter.

When it comes to identification, most people think short antenna and brown or green body when they think grasshopper. While partially correct, many grasshopper species have colorful bodies.

As the name suggests, grasshoppers are excellent jumpers. They can also fly, which provides them with the mobility to easily move from one feeding area to the next.

Green bodies and long antenna serve as the dominant katydid characteristics, although there are some circumstances where katydids change body color to blend in with their background. Their long antennas explain their nicknames, long-horned grasshoppers.

Like cicadas and crickets, most katydid species (family Tettigoniidae) sing. Their songs tend to sound like cicada songs, although they sing at night rather than copy the cicada's daytime singing pattern.

Some Katydid songs have the potential to keep their neighbors up at night. According to the University of Florida Entomology Department, "The loudest insect song in North America is produced by a coneheaded katydid. Under favorable conditions its song can be heard from as far as 500 meters."

Crickets generally buck the label of Orthoptera agricultural pests. Their dark body (brown or black) and long antenna, serve as the initial rules of thumb for field identification.

The links in the box on the right point to a sample of Orthoptera species.

© 2009-2010. Patricia A. Michaels