Meadow Grasshopper - Chorthippus parallelus

Description

Length 10-23 mm. Green-coloured but often with brown wings and sometimes entirely brown coloured. Pronotal side-keels only very slightly incurved. Some adult females are a vivid pinkish purple. Males are long-winged, while females are usually short-winged.

Similar Species

Both this species and the Lesser Marsh Grasshopper have broadly parallel pronotal side-keels. The Meadow Grasshopper usually has black 'knees' on its hind legs whereas they are unicoloured in the Lesser Marsh Grasshopper.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

It is found amongst long grass, which it eats.

When to see it

Long season with nymphs hatching in April. Adults appear by June and remain abundant through to September, some may survive into November.

Life History

The eggs are laid just below the soil and hatch the next spring.

UK Status

Common and widespread in Britain.

VC55 Status

Locally common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Further Information

Locally abundant; prefers damp 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
Meadow Grasshopper
Species group:
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Orthoptera
Family:
Acrididae
Records on NatureSpot:
101
First record:
01/07/1975 (E.C.M. Haes)
Last record:
01/09/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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