R has just taken up drawing again after a bit of a hiatus, and he’s tasked me with taking a photo of a boldly marked grasshopper for him to use as reference for a sketch. When I spotted this Field … Continued
Having posted a Meadow Grasshopper yesterday, today I thought I’d present the other two common species from this area. The main image shows a strikingly marked female Lesser Marsh Grasshopper (Chorthippus albomarginatus). This species often looks quite pale and wan, … Continued
I’ve been slightly perplexed recently by the fact that the Orthoptera season should have begun, but seemed not to have: no matter where and how hard I looked, I couldn’t find any crickets or grasshoppers. But a couple of days … Continued
Until six weeks ago, I’d never seen a Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus) in the garden, but this is my second of the season. The first was rather intricately marked, but this one is much more cryptic, which is why it … Continued
I need to be a bit careful here, because there is actually a UK species called the Mottled Grasshopper, but I’ve never seen one, and this definitely isn’t it: Myrmeleotettix maculatus is smaller and more compact than this, and both … Continued
The weather forecast for today was horrible, but apart from a sharp shower in the middle of the morning it was actually quite a pleasant day. Failing to take advantage of this unexpected gift, I spent most of the day … Continued