Grasshoppers & Crickets
Order Orthoptera
218 speciesKnown for their powerful hind legs adapted for jumping. Many species produce sounds by stridulation and are important herbivores in grassland ecosystems.
Species in this Order
Kaikoura Giant Weta
Deinacrida parva
One of the smaller species of giant weta, endemic to the Seaward Kaikoura Range in the South Island ...
Katanga Squeaker
Brachytrupes membranaceus
A very large burrowing cricket with a broad head and powerful jaws. It digs deep vertical burrows up...
Katydid
Pterophylla camellifolia
Nocturnal insects with leaf-shaped wings providing excellent camouflage. Named for their rhythmic "k...
Kentucky Cave Cricket
Ceuthophilus stygius
A large cave cricket found throughout the cave systems of Kentucky and surrounding states. It has ex...
King Cricket
Libanasidus vittatus
A large armored cricket that forages on forest floors and can bite through human skin....
Large Marsh Grasshopper
Stethophyma grossum
Europe's largest grasshopper, with bold red, yellow, and green colouring and bright red hindleg tibi...
Large Mountain Grasshopper
Stauroderus scalaris
A medium-sized grasshopper common in European mountain meadows. Males produce a distinctive rapid cl...
Leaf-rolling Cricket
Gryllacris sigillata
A large nocturnal cricket that silks together leaves to create a daytime retreat....
Lichen Katydid
Dysonia sp. (Dysonia magdalenae)
A Central American katydid with a mottled gray-green body that perfectly mimics lichen on bark. It i...
Lichen-Bark Katydid
Markia hystrix
A Neotropical katydid covered in spine-like projections that mimic lichen or moss. Its body is green...
Long-horned Grasshopper
Ruspolia nitidula
A cone-headed katydid with an elongated fastigium and long antennae. It can be green or brown. It is...
Long-winged Conehead
Conocephalus discolor
A slim green bush-cricket with a pointed head that has dramatically expanded its range northward in ...
Madagascar Mole Cricket
Gryllotalpa madecassa
A mole cricket endemic to Madagascar found in the island's moist forest soils. Little is known about...
Mahoenui Giant Weta
Deinacrida mahoenui
A critically threatened giant weta originally surviving in a single patch of introduced gorse scrub....
Malabar Monkey Grasshopper
Eumastax nalandensis
A small, colorful grasshopper found in the Western Ghats of India, associated with monsoon forest ha...
Malagasy Litterhopper
Valalyllum folium
A recently described pygmy grasshopper from Madagascar known only from the Belanono forest. Its flat...
Malaysian Katydid
Ancylecha fenestrata
A large bright green katydid with a distinctive transparent window in each forewing. It is commonly ...
Mammoth Cave Cricket
Hadenoecus subterraneus
A large obligate cave cricket and keystone species of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Its eggs are the prima...
Matchstick Grasshopper
Eumastax vittata
A tiny colorful grasshopper with an extremely slender body resembling a matchstick....
Meadow Grasshopper
Pseudochorthippus parallelus
A common European grasshopper with shortened wings that render it flightless. It produces a regular,...
Meadow Katydid
Conocephalus brevipennis
A small short-winged katydid found in moist meadows and bog margins....
Mercury Islands Tusked Weta
Motuweta isolata
One of New Zealands rarest insects, found only on Middle Mercury Island. Males have curved tusks on ...
Migratory Locust
Locusta migratoria
The most widespread locust species in the world, found across Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It exhibits...
Mole Cricket
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
Extraordinary burrowers with powerful shovel-like forelegs adapted for digging. Males construct horn...
Mole Cricket Hunter Cricket
Luzara dealata
A small, dark cricket native to tropical Asia often found in leaf litter and loose soil. It is wingl...
Mole Cricket with Four Dots
Neoscapteriscus abbreviatus
A short-winged mole cricket-like species from South America that has invaded the southeastern United...
Monkey Grasshopper
Paramastax nigra
A miniature grasshopper with bright metallic blue and orange coloration....
Mormon Cricket
Anabrus simplex
A large, flightless shield-backed katydid native to western North America. Despite its name it is no...
Moroccan Locust
Dociostaurus maroccanus
A small but destructive locust found in dry habitats across the Mediterranean and Central Asia. It f...
Moss Grasshopper
Batrachideinae sp. (Coscineuta coxalis)
A tiny pygmy grasshopper with an elongated pronotum covered in moss-like textures. It is practically...
Moss Katydid
Haemodiasma tessellata
A katydid with a body covered in textured bumps and green-brown coloring that mimics moss and bark. ...
Mottled Grasshopper
Myrmeleotettix maculatus
A small variable grasshopper with distinctively clubbed antennae in males. Colors range from green t...
Mount Arthur Cave Weta
Miotopus diversus
A cave weta endemic to caves in the Nelson region of New Zealand's South Island. It has extremely lo...
Mount Cook Giant Weta
Deinacrida pluvialis
A rare alpine giant weta restricted to high-altitude zones in the western ranges of the South Island...
Mount Kosciuszko Grasshopper
Kosciuscola cognatus
A small alpine grasshopper found only in the highest parts of the Australian Alps. It is closely rel...
Mountain Stone Weta
Hemideina maori
A freeze-tolerant weta found in alpine regions of New Zealand. It shelters under rocks and can survi...
Nelson Alpine Giant Weta
Deinacrida fallai
A giant weta found above the tree line in the mountains of northwest Nelson, New Zealand. Nocturnal ...
Nelson Alpine Weta
Deinacrida tibiospina
An alpine weta endemic to the mountains of the Nelson/Marlborough region in New Zealand's South Isla...
New Caledonian Giant Gecko Cricket
Pseudoplectus cornutus
A large raspy cricket endemic to New Caledonia with powerful jaws. It is nocturnal and hides in silk...
New Zealand Cave Weta
Pachyrhamma edwardsii
A large cave weta found throughout New Zealand's North Island caves. It has massive hind legs and ca...
North American Pygmy Mole Cricket
Neotridactylus apicialis
A minute mole cricket found on sandy shores of rivers and ponds in North America. It burrows just be...
Oak Bush-cricket
Meconema thalassinum
A slender, pale green bush-cricket found in tree canopies. It is nocturnal and rarely flies despite ...
Oceanic Field Cricket
Teleogryllus oceanicus
A widespread Pacific cricket found from Australia to Hawaii with a loud, clear chirp. Some Hawaiian ...
Ornate Pygmy Grasshopper
Tetrix ornata
A tiny, intricately patterned groundhopper found on bare sandy soils in North American prairies and ...
Painted Grasshopper
Poekilocerus pictus
A strikingly colorful grasshopper with bright yellow and turquoise markings found in the Indian subc...
Pallid-Winged Grasshopper
Trimerotropis pallidipennis
A well-camouflaged band-winged grasshopper with pale translucent hindwings. It is one of the most co...
Peacock Katydid
Pterochroza ocellata
A large katydid that mimics dead leaves at rest but reveals huge eyespots on its hind wings when thr...
Pink Underwing Katydid
Amblycorypha oblongifolia
A North American katydid with bright green leaf-like forewings. Rare pink morphs occur naturally and...
PNG Giant Katydid
Siliquofera grandis
A very large katydid found in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, with a body resembling a green le...
Predatory Bush Cricket
Saga pedo
The largest European bush-cricket reaching up to 12cm. It is a formidable predator of other insects....
Predatory Katydid
Clonia melanoptera
A large predatory katydid with powerful spiny forelegs for catching insects....
Proscopiid Stick Grasshopper
Proscopia scabra
An extremely elongated, wingless grasshopper that closely resembles a stick insect. Its thread-thin ...
Pygmy Mole Cricket
Tridactylus variegatus
A tiny mole cricket that lives along sandy stream banks and lake margins. It has miniature digging f...
Pyrenean Mountain Grasshopper
Cophopodisma pyrenaea
An endemic flightless grasshopper restricted to high elevations in the Pyrenees. It has a compact bo...
Rainbow Grasshopper
Dactylotum variegatum
A small short-winged grasshopper brightly patterned in red, orange, blue, and black. Despite its viv...
Rapa Nui Cricket
Paratrigonidium rapanui
A tiny ground cricket endemic to Easter Island (Rapa Nui). It lives in leaf litter and stone crevice...
Raspy Cricket
Cooraboorama canberrae
A nocturnal wingless cricket that builds silk-lined shelters from folded leaves....
Red Locust
Nomadacris septemfasciata
A large brown and red locust that swarms periodically from outbreak areas in Central and Southern Af...
Roesel's Bush-cricket
Roeseliana roeselii
A stocky bush-cricket with a distinctive pale border along the pronotum. Its song is a continuous hi...
Rossi's Alpine Grasshopper
Podisma pedestris
A flightless brown grasshopper of alpine and subalpine meadows across Europe. It walks rather than f...
Rufous Grasshopper
Gomphocerippus rufus
A medium-sized grasshopper with distinctive white-tipped, club-shaped antennae. Males have reddish-b...
Saddle-backed Bush-cricket
Ephippiger ephippiger
A robust bush-cricket named for its saddle-shaped pronotum. It has vestigial wings used only for sou...
Saharan Sand Grasshopper
Sphingonotus octofasciatus
A pale sandy grasshopper well adapted to life on Saharan sand dunes. It has elongated hind legs for ...
Sand Field Cricket
Gryllus firmus
A large cricket occurring in two wing forms: long-winged fliers and short-winged non-fliers. This wi...
Sand Gropper
Cylindraustralia kochii
A bizarre cylindrical cricket adapted for burrowing in sandy soils in Australia....
Sand Treader Camel Cricket
Macrobaenetes valgum
A pale, wingless cricket adapted to life on desert sand dunes in the American Southwest. It has broa...
Sand Treader Cricket
Ammobaenetes phrixocnemoides
A pale, wingless cricket highly adapted to life on desert sand dunes. Its oversized hind legs have p...
Saw-backed Grouse Locust
Acridopeza reticulata
An Australian pygmy grasshopper with a distinctly serrated or saw-toothed pronotal keel. It is found...
Scaly Cricket
Pseudomogoplistes vicentae
A tiny wingless cricket covered in iridescent scales. It lives on shingle beaches above the high-tid...
Scheltopusik Cave Cricket
Dolichopoda schiavazzii
A cave-dwelling cricket found in limestone caves of central Italy. It has extremely long antennae an...
Scree Weta
Deinacrida connectens
An alpine giant weta that lives among rocky scree fields at elevations above 1200 meters. It is rema...
Scudderia Katydid
Scudderia furcata
A slender, bright green fork-tailed bush katydid common in meadows and gardens. Its forked subgenita...
Senegalese Grasshopper
Oedaleus senegalensis
A small to medium grasshopper with an X-shaped marking on the pronotum and blue hindwings. It is an ...
Short-horned Grasshopper
Phymateus morbillosus
A toxic foam grasshopper that sequesters milkweed poisons and displays bright warning colors....
Sieber's Mountain Grasshopper
Miramella alpina
A green alpine grasshopper with short wings, common in European mountain meadows. It is one of the m...
Slant-faced Grasshopper
Acrida ungarica
A striking grasshopper with an elongated, cone-shaped head and long antennae. It can be green or bro...
Slender Groundhopper
Tetrix subulata
A small, fully-winged pygmy grasshopper found near water in marshy and boggy habitats across the Nor...
Snowy Tree Cricket
Oecanthus fultoni
A pale green, delicate tree cricket known as the 'thermometer cricket.' Its chirp rate correlates pr...
South African Cave Cricket
Speleiacris tabulae
A cave cricket endemic to caves on the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. It has reduced eyes and pale ...
South American Locust
Schistocerca cancellata
A major swarming locust of South America closely related to the desert locust. It periodically forms...
Southern Mole Cricket
Neoscapteriscus borellii
A South American mole cricket that has become an invasive turf pest in the southern United States an...
Southern Oak Bush-Cricket
Meconema meridionale
A small, wingless relative of the oak bush-cricket that has rapidly spread northward across Europe, ...
Speckled Bush-Cricket
Leptophyes punctatissima
A small, bright green bush-cricket covered in tiny dark speckles found across Europe. Its song is al...
Spiny Leaf Katydid
Panacanthus cuspidatus
A brightly colored Ecuadorian katydid covered in sharp spines for defense. Its green body with orang...
Spotted Camel Cricket
Ceuthophilus maculatus
A hump-backed wingless cricket with spotted brown coloring and very long hind legs. It is nocturnal ...
Spring Field Cricket
Gryllus veletis
A black field cricket that overwinters as a late-instar nymph and matures in spring. Its early-seaso...
Spur-throated Locust
Austracris guttulosa
A large Australian locust named for the distinctive spur on its throat. It is a major agricultural p...
Steppe Mole Cricket
Gryllotalpa stepposa
A mole cricket of the Eurasian steppe belt distinguished from other European species by its song and...
Stone Grasshopper
Prionotropis hystrix
A heavy-bodied flightless grasshopper that resembles a lichen-covered pebble....
Stripe-winged Grasshopper
Stenobothrus lineatus
A colorful grasshopper with a distinctive white stripe along its forewing. Males perform elaborate c...
Sudan Plague Locust
Aiolopus simulatrix
A slender grasshopper of the Sahel zone that occasionally reaches plague densities after good rains....
Tasmanian Cave Cricket
Micropathus ditto
A recently described cave cricket from wet forests of Tasmania, Australia. It is a short-range endem...
Tawny Mole Cricket
Neoscapteriscus vicinus
An invasive burrowing cricket with tan coloring and powerful digging forelegs. It is a major turf pe...
Tenerife Cave Cricket
Petaloptila canariensis
A pale cave-dwelling cricket found in lava tubes on Tenerife. It has reduced eyes and elongated ante...
Tree Locust
Anacridium melanorhodon
A large grey-brown locust with distinctive vertical stripes on its eyes and a rough thorax crest. It...
Tree Weta
Hemideina thoracica
A common weta species found throughout the North Island of New Zealand. It shelters in tree holes du...
Tropical House Cricket
Gryllodes sigillatus
A small light brown cricket with dark bands on its head. It is widely bred as feeder insects for rep...
True Leaf Katydid
Pseudophyllus titan
A large katydid with broad green forewings that precisely mimic living leaves. The wing venation pat...
Two-clawed Mole Cricket
Neoscapteriscus didactylus
A large South American mole cricket recognized by its two-clawed digging foreleg. It is both a turf ...
Two-Spotted Cricket
Gryllus bimaculatus
A large black cricket with two distinctive pale spots at the base of the forewings. It is widely use...