Chorthippus brunneus (Thunberg, 1815)

Photos: Click on a thumbnail to see a larger picture.

Status: British Isles native species.

Description: Brownish but colour varies, striped and mottled forms with parts of the body varying from buff through orange to purple. Sharply incurved pronotal side-keels. Underside of body is distinctively hairy in both sexes.

Size: 15-25 mm

Wings: The species is winged, flies well and has been known to swarm. Wings reach beyond the hind-knees.

Stridulation: Short, brisk chirp repeated at short intervals

Recordings: Note, your ability to play these recordingsdepends upon the configuration of your computer and browser.

Though recorded with a bat detector, the Field Grasshopper has almost no ultrasound and is better located by ear.
Source: Malcolm Lee

Food: Herbivorous, feeding mainly on grasses.

Habitat: Short vegetation in dry, sunny situations; downland and coastal grassland. Eggs are laid into the soil.

Phenology: Long season with nymphs hatching from late March. Adults appear from June and may survive until early December.

Distribution: The records held by the National Biodiversity Network are shown in the map below.

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Only the following datasets are included:

• Biological Records Centre - Grasshopper and Cricket (Orthoptera) and related species records from Britain and Ireland to 2007

Other datasets on the gateway may hold additional information.