Common Green Grasshopper - Omocestus viridulus

Alternative names
Green Grasshopper
Description

Length 14-23 mm. The female is always dorsally green but males can be olive-brown. They never have any red or orange on the abdomen. Winged and flies well, but wings never exceed the end of the body. Lines on shoulders incurved, marked white or cream.

Identification difficulty
ID guidance
  • pronotal incurved towards the head
  • pronotal edges with white or cream lines
  • usually green on the sides (never purple or red)

ID Guide to Common Grasshoppers

Habitat

Found in coarse grass in moist situations. It is often abundant in parkland, meadows and along woodland rides.

When to see it

The first of the grasshoppers to appear in numbers, nymphs can be found from late April or May. Adults appear from July and survive into November.

UK Status

Common and widespread in Britain.

VC55 Status

Locally common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Further Information

Locally abundant, but less common than formerly; prefers old grasslands.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Common Green Grasshopper
Species group:
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Orthoptera
Family:
Acrididae
Records on NatureSpot:
84
First record:
01/01/1967 (John Crocker)
Last record:
21/09/2023 (Gaten, Ted)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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