Katydids and cricket are two type of insects that look like hopper . Some species of these grasshopper look - alikes have the characteristic slender bodies and large hind legs like grasshoppers . And like grasshopper , many of these species make ticking or click sound when fret their wings together . These law of similarity can make differentiating crickets and katydids from grasshopper challenging .

However , there are signalise features to avail identify hopper and blob their look - alikes . Looking at their sizing , body shape , antenna , conduct , and gloss can avail to severalise katydids , cricket , implore mantises , and stick insects aside from grasshoppers .

This clause is an designation guide to assist tell the difference between katydid , cricket , locusts , and other like insect .

So , suppose you have noticedchirping insectshopping around your garden and require to identify them . In that case , this article has helpful information on recognize if it ’s a grasshopper or grasshopper facial expression - likewise .

Insects That Look Like Grasshoppers

Some insects count like grasshoppers because they have prominent hind legs they use to leap , they can vanish , or make speedy tic - tic noises . cricket and katydids are two insect species most tight resemble grasshoppers . However , wedge insects and praying mantid look like some grasshopper species , especially tacit slant - faced grasshoppers .

Telling similarly - looking insects from grasshoppers apart gets more puzzling because some apportion exchangeable common names . For exemplar , katydid are also call bush cricket and long - tusk grasshoppers . However , bush cricket is also a subfamily of lawful cricket that look like grasshoppers . to boot , they belong to the same louse orderOrthoptera .

How to Tell Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets Apart

There are a few ways to speciate between similar - looking insects in the orderOrthoptera .

For good example , look at the antennae . Grasshoppers tend to have short , thick antenna , whereas crickets and katydids have long , thin antennae . Grasshoppers are usually active in day , but katydids eat at nighttime . And crickets have a more diverse habitat than grasshopper or katydid .

Related reading : How to get free of grasshopper from our M .

Katydids (Tettigoniidae)

Katydids are also called bush crickets or long - horned grasshoppers . In the movie : the enceinte green bush - cricket ( Tettigonia viridissima )

katydid aregreen - wing insectsthat look and go remarkably like grasshopper . These grasshopper flavor - alikes have long , threadlike antennae , a span of wings they use to “ sing ” with , and prominent , angled hindlegs . Katydids typically live in tree diagram and are only participating at Nox when you may hear their distinctive sounds .

Some katydids are gigantic worm that produce up to 5.1 ” ( 130 mm ) long — much larger than theworld ’s great grasshopper . However , katydids can also be small green dirt ball measuring as little as 0.20 ” ( 5 mm ) . The grasshopper - alike wight are common in tropical region , but many species are aboriginal to North America .

How to order katydid and grasshopper aside ? The principal difference between katydid and grasshoppers is their prospicient , filamentous antennae which can be longer than their consistence length . In demarcation , the grasshopper aerial are scant and low-set . Additionally , katydids are nocturnal , whereas grasshopper are active in the daylight .

Katydids are normally called bush crickets or long - horn grasshoppers .

Let ’s look at some individual coinage of katydid that reckon like grasshoppers .

True katydids (Pseudophyllinae)

Leaf - mimic katydid ( Phyllozelus caeruleus )

True katydid make up several tribes of grasshopper - like insect in the subfamilyPseudophyllinae . These green insects are characterized by their noteworthy appearing , resemble leaves . Their large backstage have veins and blotches like tree leaf . For this reason , some katydids are called leaf - mimic katydids .

There is great mutation in specie of katydid in the subfamilyPseudophyllinae . For exercise , some have wings with gray and white mottled patterns resemble dried , decaying leaves . However , other katydid look like beautiful cherry-red butterflies with yellow-bellied and bass flushed mark on their wing .

Meadow katydids (Conocephalinae)

The long - fly conehead katydid ( Conocephalus fuscus )

Meadow katydids closely resemble grasshoppers with their long slender bodies , expectant ‘ V’-shaped hind legs , and vertically align head . For lesson , the long - winged conehead katydid ( Conocephalus fuscus ) has a saddle - shaped chest , retentive forewings , and a distinctive banding along its abdomen . This katydid coinage quantity 0.63 ” to 0.87 ” ( 16 – 22 mm ) long .

Eumacroxiphus brachyurus looks like a blood-red grasshopper

Among the many species of hayfield katydid are insects that look like flushed grasshopper ( Eumacroxiphus brachyurus ) . These colorful katydids have red-faced abdominal cavity , black - ring ruby-red leg , and scarlet - green wing . They also have exceedingly long threadlike transmitting aerial . However , theOrchelimum pulchellumis a green katydid with emerald - green wings and yellowish and red hindlegs .

The openhanded hayfield katydid ( Orchelimum pulchellum )

Predatory katydids (Saginae)

The spiked magician ( Saga pedo )

Many coinage of predatory katydids look like gigantic grasshoppers , and it ’s gentle to bedevil them . For example , the spiked magician ( Saga pedo ) bush cricket is a wingless insect with a farseeing slender consistency and huge rear legs . The katydid has a dumb green torso and leg with a yellowish stripe along its abdomen .

Also call the predatory bush cricket , the spiked magician is enormous , measure 4.7 ” ( 120 mm ) . This make it one of the bombastic katydids that looks like a grasshopper . The katydid inhabit pastures , hayfield , and shrub , as well as food grain fields .

As their name suggests , predatory katydid hound their prey , and their diet lie of small insects .

How to get rid of katydids in the garden

Although they do n’t damage plants extensively , some people consider katydidsunwelcome flight bugsin the garden . For deterrent example , the broad - winged katydid ( Microcentrum rhombifolium ) eats the foliage ofcitrus treesand can destroy unripened specie . The katydid intercept also nibble on citrus fruit Robert Peel .

The broad - winged katydid ( Microcentrum rhombifolium )

The best way to get rid of katydids if they become pestis is to use spinosad early in the season to destroy katydid nymph . However , getting free of katydids from your garden completely is difficult .

Crickets (Grylloidea)

African orbit crickets ( Gryllus bimaculatus )

Crickets are related to grasshoppers and katydids but are generally smaller , cylindrical insects with flatten dead body . Like katydids , crickets have long threadlike aerial and racy hind legs for spring , and they also make chirp interference . However , although cricket have wing , they are not adjust for flying . Therefore , crickets are typically earth - living insects .

Grasshopper - calculate - alike cricket in North America are typically olive - green , brown , or black insects . Most species are qualify by a rounded headway with huge antennae . Additionally , many types of cricket have a pair of fundament - like protrusions . The low insects typically measure between 0.47 ” and 2.0 ” ( 12 – 25 millimeter ) .

Unlike grasshoppers , crickets have a wide distribution and are found in most land worldwide . you could find them in the tropic and temperate part . And they endure in bushes , forests , marshes , grasslands , and beaches .

How can you tell crickets aside from grasshopper ? Compared to hopper , crickets have a more ellipse organic structure and rounded head . In addition , while grasshopper have short , stubby antennae , crickets have long antenna , which are commonly longer than their bodies . Also , crickets can not fly but scurry across the ground .

Let ’s look at some single cricket mintage that you could mistake for small hopper .

Sword-tail crickets (Trigonidiinae)

The sword - tail cricket Trigonidium cicindeloides

Also squall winged bush crickets or trigs , brand - tail crickets mostly look like belittled grasshoppers . steel - tail cricket have characteristic enceinte hind peg , long , wandering antenna , and an oval body . Depending on the individual metal money , the low crickets could be black , brown , or yellow - green . These ground insects are common throughout North America .

Sword - tail crickets generally grow between 0.15 ” and 0.35 ” ( 4 – 9 mm ) . They get their name from the two pointed protrusions at their tail end . Additional characteristics of brand - tail crickets are obtrusive spines on their hind legs , expectant centre , and colored hindlegs .

Ground crickets (Nemobiinae)

Wood cricket ( Nemobius sylvestris )

Ground crickets are small insects that look like tiny grasshopper . Also called forest crickets , the insects have a flatten , ellipse body , pear-shaped head , and two long antenna — although normally shorter than those on other crickets . Typically , ground crickets value less than 0.6 ” ( 15 mm ) long .

Ground cricket are omnivore and are active during the day . Most of the 200 species in the subfamily are small brown insects . This camouflage makes the worm hard to spot among leaf litter and at the substructure of plants where they typically live .

Mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae)

European mole cricket ( Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa )

Mole crickets are a group of grasshopper look - alikes with cylindric body , small eyes , and six branch . As their name suggests , mol crickets mostly inhabit underground . Common feature of mole crickets are their slender appearance and relatively large head and thorax . Although their legs resemble those of a true cricket , they are more adapted for pushing soil than leaping .

Mole crickets are mid - sized dirt ball measuring 1.3 ” to 1.4 ” ( 3.2 – 3.5 mm ) long . A unequalled lineament of these crickets is their power to take flight . However , they spend their lives in underground tunnel where they tip , mate , and keep safe from predators . In addition , they course on other mintage of crickets , larvae , roots , and worms .

Field crickets (Gryllus)

The European field cricket ( Gryllus campestris )

force field crickets are darkly colored insects with hind legs characteristic of hopper . The sour brown to black crawling insects have an ellipse torso , a pear-shaped head vertically aligned , pair of wings , and two pointed tails . They also have spine or pegs on their rear legs to make their chirping sounds .

There are hundreds of sort of field cricket , and they broadly speaking quantify 0.59 ” to 1.22 ” ( 15 – 31 mm ) long . The crickets lean to opt sunny locations and dry circumstance . As their common name suggest , they live in grasslands , feeding on various types of grasses .

Bush Crickets (Eneopterinae)

Bush cricket Eneoptera guyanensis

Bush crickets are the character of insect that mostly resembles grasshoppers . Generally , their body shape , hind legs , and vertically align oral sex make them easy to confuse with grasshoppers . And although katydids are also called bush cricket , the mintage are related but not the same .

Locusts

Locusts depend like grasshoppers because they aretrue grasshoppers . Locusts are a mintage of shortly - horned hopper with tumid hindlegs , flying wings , and characteristic light stumpy antennae . Locusts differ from other grasshoppers due to their gregarious phase . This is where they quickly multiply and cloud in many numbers , sometimes with million of insects .

pullulate grasshoppers ( locusts ) are comparatively large dirt ball that turn up to 3.14 ” ( 80 millimeter ) in length . For case , the desert locust tree isone of the largest grasshoppersthat flies . However , there are smaller coinage of locust as small as 0.4 ” ( 10 mm ) .

permit ’s seem in more contingent at identifying features of some rough-cut type of locusts .

Migratory locusts (Locustamigratoria)

Migratory locust tree ( Locusta migratoria )

The migratory locust is a big worm with a yellowish consistency and brownish wings featuring scandalmongering patterns . This destructive pest has large hindlegs with dark brown to black ‘ V’-shaped print and small spike . Like most types of locusts , this grasshopper specie has short , straight antennae .

The migrant locust grow between 1.57 ” and 2.36 ” ( 40 – 60 mm ) long . It is common in Africa and Asia . Like many mintage of locusts , this one has dissimilar colouration bet on its phase angle . It is yellow - brown in its gregarious adult stage but brownish with patches of green in its solitary phase .

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria)

Desert locust tree ( Schistocerca gregaria )

The desert locust is a great hopper with an overall yellow - green color . The place feature of the destructive insect are smuggled patch on its wings , bright jaundiced head and hindlegs , and whitish - grayish foreleg . However , in the gregarious phase , they develop pink patches . Like all grasshopper insects , this locust has unretentive antennae .

The desert locust is a huge insect that measures around 3.14 ” ( 80 millimetre ) in length . As its name suggest , it dwell African , Asian , and Middle easterly regions . swarm of these locust tree can amount to tens of millions and make all-encompassing harvest terms .

Garden locusts (Acanthacris ruficornis)

Garden locust ( Acanthacris ruficornis )

The garden locust is another Brobdingnagian , short - horned grasshopper with swarm tendency . It has dark dark-brown offstage and a yellow - brown pectus and heading . Identifying feature of speech of this teem grasshopper are the icteric stripe along its head and thorax , horizontally strip chemical compound centre , and yellowish and brown hind legs .

The enormous hopper can measure up to 3.14 ” ( 80 mm ) . Under optimum conditions , garden locust are just as destructive as other species of pullulate grasshoppers . They prefer to live in affectionate habitats where they can be active throughout the yr .

Stick Insects (Phasmatodea)

Stick insects let in many species with varying sizes and colour

Stick insects are a species of louse that resemble silent rake - faced grasshopper . The unusual creatures have long , cylindrical , control stick - like svelte bodies and retentive outstretched legs . These insects are typically dark-green or brown and have wings , although they can not pilot . Stick insects have the remarkable power to mimic their milieu .

Stick insect can be tremendous worm and are classified as the populace ’s long insects . The large marijuana cigarette insect in the genusPhryganistriagrows 25 ” ( 640 mm ) long . However , some littler control stick louse can be as bantam as 0.6 ” ( 15 mm ) .

Also called walk sticks , these case of leaf insect are found in temperate and tropical region of the world . They dwell forests and woodlands and are unmanageable to spot because of their excellent camouflage . Other names for these dirt ball include stick bugs , phasmid , ghostwriter insects , and leaf bug .

Praying Mantis (Mantodea)

The European mantid ( Mantis religiosa )

The implore mantid is an unusual green louse that can be false for alarge grasshopper . The unmissable feature of mantises are their triangular straits with bulging eyes , elongated , slender body , and enlarged foreleg to grip their prey . Their name get along from the way they fold their forearm in a pray emplacement when in an upright posture .

pray mantis range in size of it from 2 ” to 5 ” ( 50 – 120 mm ) . Although green is their typical color , the insects can also be chocolate-brown or xanthous - green . A characteristic habit of the praying mantis is that they can remain motionless for extended menses . However , if they are threatened , they climb up up on their hind legs and circulate their forearms in an aggressive pose .

Native North America praying mantis : left : Arizona mantid ( Stagmomantis limbata ) . Right : Carolina mantis ( Stagmomantis carolina )

Several species of praying mantis are aboriginal to North America . They are most normally constitute in the southwestern United States . For example , the Arizona mantis ( Stagmomantis limbata ) is a sick - green winged insect measuring 3 ” ( 75 mm ) long . On the other hand , the aboriginal Carolina mantis ( Stagmomantis carolina ) is a gray to cold - browned insect found throughout the east coast .

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