Head to head
Great Green Bush-cricket vs Meadow Grasshopper
Great Green Bush-cricket
VS Meadow Grasshopper
The great green bush-cricket and meadow grasshopper are two familiar singing insects of European summer grassland, though they belong to different groups.
| Great Green Bush-cricket | Meadow Grasshopper | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Tettigonia viridissima | Pseudochorthippus parallelus |
| Group | A bush-cricket, with very long, thread-like antennae | A grasshopper, with short antennae |
| Size and colour | Up to around 4 cm long, bright green with a brown stripe down the back | Usually green, but sometimes brown or purplish, a medium-sized grasshopper with females larger than males |
| Diet | Omnivore, eating other insects, such as grasshoppers and caterpillars, as well as leaves and flowers | Herbivore, eating the leaves of grasses |
| Song | Males sing a loud, continuous, high-pitched trill by rubbing their wings together, carrying far at dusk and after dark | Males sing short bursts by rubbing pegs on the hind legs against the edge of the wing |
| Movement | Jumps powerfully with its long hind legs and can also fly short distances | Has very short wings, too small for flight in most individuals, so it relies on jumping |
| Eggs | Females have a long, curved, sword-shaped egg-laying tube to push eggs into the ground | Females lay eggs in pods in the soil, which overwinter and hatch the following spring |
| Range and status | Meadows, hedgerows, and scrub across Europe and parts of Asia, rare in southern Britain, and Not Evaluated globally | Meadows, roadsides, and rough grassland across Europe and parts of Asia, abundant, and Not Evaluated globally |
Great Green Bush-cricket vs Meadow Grasshopper: common questions
Which insect sings loudest?
The great green bush-cricket, whose male trill carries a long way, especially at dusk and after dark.
Which one eats other insects?
The great green bush-cricket, which hunts insects such as grasshoppers and caterpillars, while the meadow grasshopper eats grass.
Can the meadow grasshopper fly?
Most individuals have wings too short for flight, so they rely on jumping to escape.