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Grasshoppers are among the most fascinating insects. About 80 species can be observed in Germany. These include large hay horses, but also smaller grasshoppers and crickets. Get to know 14 native grasshopper species.
In a nutshell
- many native grasshopper species are on the Red List
- the largest deposits are in southern Germany
- A distinction is made between long-touch crickets (Ensifera) and short-touch crickets (Caelifera)
- The name goes back to the Old High German word "scricken" for "jump".
- not all grasshoppers can fly, some can even swim
Types from A - G
Striped cricket (Leptophyes albovittata)
The striped cricket grows to a maximum of 16 millimeters. Their antennae reach four times the body length.
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Crescents
- Distribution: Schleswig-Holstein
- Length: 9 to 14 millimeters (males), 12 to 16 millimeters (females)
- Colour: green with red or dark brown spots
- Wings: short
- Nutrition: soft plants, fragrant herbs
- Vocals: very quiet
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: barely able to fly
- Habitat: Dry grasslands, sunny forest edges
- Observation: June to October
Greenhouse Cricket (Tachycines asynamorus)
Like all members of the cave-cricket family, the greenhouse cricket has no wings and no organs of hearing. The species originates from China and is distributed worldwide.
Source: Neda Dilmaghanian, Camel Cricket dsc00387 Neda, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Family: Cave Horrors
- Distribution: everywhere in Germany
- Length: 13 to 19 millimeters
- Colour: tawny or grey-brown with dark spots
- Wings: none
- Nutrition: fruits, seedlings, small insects
- Singing: silent
- Activity: nocturnal
- Feature: barely able to fly
- Habitat: greenhouses, nurseries
- Observation: all year round
Notice: The greenhouse cricket lays several hundred eggs in flower pots, causing it to spread widely.
Mountain cricket (Podisma pedestris)
The mountain cricket is one of the rare crickets found in Germany. The species is critically endangered.
Source: Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium, Podisma pedestris female (3786123477), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Family: Creepers
- Distribution: Swabian Alb
- Length: 17 to 19 millimeters (males), 24 to 30 millimeters (females)
- Colour: reddish brown, variegated
- Wings: short stubs
- Nutrition: grasses, herbs
- Vocals: crackling
- Activity: diurnal
- Trait: unable to fly
- Habitat: mountain meadows
- Observation: June to October
Big Green Hayhorse (Tettigonia viridissima)
The large green hay horse is one of the most common grasshopper species in Germany.
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Hayhorses
- Distribution: everywhere in Germany
- Length: 28 to 36 millimeters (males), 32 to 42 millimeters (females)
- Color green
- Wings: body length
- Diet: aphids, beetle larvae, small insects
- Singing: loud buzzing
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: can fly well
- Habitat: Cottage gardens, meadows, pastures, deciduous forests
- Observation: June to October
Types of H - O
Heather Grasshopper (Stenobothrus lineatus)
The song of the heather grasshopper is considered to be one of the most distinctive grasshopper songs. It starts quietly and gets louder like a siren.
- Family: field locusts
- Subfamily: Grasshopper
- Distribution: Widespread in central and southern Germany, rare in northern Germany
- Length: 15 to 19 millimeters (males), 21 to 26 millimeters (females)
- Colour: green, variegated
- Wings: Forewings not bulged
- Nutrition: grasses, herbs
- Song: very distinctive, siren-like
- Activity: diurnal
- Trait: Mostly unable to fly
- Habitat: deciduous forests
- Observation: June to November
house cricket (Acheta domesticus)
Crickets are often found in older buildings in particular. Their singing sounds only in the evening or at night.
- Family: crickets
- Distribution: everywhere in Germany
- Length: 16 to 20 millimeters
- Colour: yellow to yellow-brown
- Wings: hindwings well developed
- Nutrition: food supplies, waste
- Singing: chirping
- Activity: nocturnal
- Feature: can fly very well
- Habitat: old buildings, garbage dumps
- Observation: all year round
Mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
The mole cricket lives up to its name. It lives in burrows and can cause root damage.
- Family: Mole Crickets
- Distribution: everywhere in Germany
- Length: 40 to 50 millimeters
- Colour: dark brown
- Wings: well developed hindwings, short forewings
- Diet: Insect larvae and roots
- Vocals: sustained whirring
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: able to fly and float
- Habitat: Soils with low vegetation
- Observation: all year round
Notice: Mole crickets can swim but cannot jump.
Types of P - V
Cricket (Isophya kraussii)
The plump physique gave this species of grasshopper its name.
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Crescents
- Distribution: north of the Danube, Swabian Jura, Rhön, Ore Mountains, Harz
- Length: 19 to 20 millimeters
- Colour: green with dark spots
- Wings: Forewings short, hindwings absent
- Diet: predominantly soft plant-based diet
- Singing: quiet, only in the evening and at night
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: can hardly fly
- Habitat: nutrient-poor grassland, grassland, meadow orchards
- Observation: May to September
Black-spotted Grasshopper (Stenobothrus nigromaculatus)
The black-spotted grasshopper is not easy to spot. The singing of the male is striking. The species is critically endangered.
Source: Gilles San Martin, Stenobothrus nigromaculatus male, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Family: field locusts
- Subfamily: Grasshopper
- Distribution: in the Franconian Jura, otherwise very rare
- Length: 13 to 18 millimeters (males), 18 to 25 millimeters (females)
- Colour: green or light brown, abdomen in males orange-red
- Wings: Wings very short in male
- Nutrition: grasses, herbs
- Vocals: very noticeable swelling buzzing sounds "sh-sh-sh-sh-sh"
- Activity: diurnal
- Trait: Mostly unable to fly
- Habitat: deciduous forests
- Observation: July to September
Types of W - Z
Forest cricket (Nemobius sylvestris)
The grasshopper species lives on the ground in foliage. She is very agile.
Source: Slimguy, 2016 09 19 Forest Cricket, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Family: crickets
- Distribution: Widespread in central and southern Germany
- Length: 7 to 10 millimeters
- Colour: dark brown, light pronotum
- Wings: Forewings short, hindwings absent
- Diet: plant-based diet
- Song: euphonious, purring
- Activity: diurnal
- Trait: unable to fly
- Habitat: deciduous forests
- Observation: July to October
Wartbiter (Decticus verrucivorus)
The wartbiter got its unusual name because it was used to fight warts due to its highly caustic digestive juices.
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Biting Crickets
- Distribution: everywhere in Germany, especially at higher altitudes
- Length: 24 to 38 millimeters (males), 26 to 44 millimeters (females)
- Colour: yellow-brown, green, black-brown checked
- Wings: narrow with cube-spots
- Diet: insects and plants
- Singing: only in sunshine
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: capable of flying
- Habitat: meadows, pastures
- Observation: June to September
Bicolor mantis (Bicolorana bicolor)
The bicolored mantis is warmth-loving. This grasshopper species is common in southern Germany and on the Moselle.
Source: Fritz Geller-Grimm, Mombach fg23, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Biting Crickets
- Distribution: southern Germany
- Length: 15 to 18 millimeters
- Colour: light green, brown pronotum, shiny surface
- Wings: short
- Nutrition: grasses, herbs
- Vocals: short three-syllable verses, moderately loud, rattling
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: barely able to fly
- Habitat: Dry grasslands
- Observation: May to September
Dwarf Grasshopper (Stenobothrus crassipes)
The dwarf grasshopper is the smallest Central European grasshopper. The wings are short, so it is often mistaken for a larva.
- Family: field locusts
- Subfamily: Grasshopper
- Distribution: around the Kyffhäuser, otherwise rare
- Length: 10 to 12 millimeters (males), 13 to 16 millimeters (females)
- Colour: light brown
- Wings: short
- Nutrition: grasses, herbs
- Vocals: soft, slightly swelling at the beginning
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: Rarely able to fly
- Habitat: short rough meadows
- Observation: July to October
Twitter Hayhorse (Tettigonia cantans)
The chirping hay horse lives in damp meadows. His loud singing is striking.
- Family: Katydids
- Subfamily: Hayhorses
- Distribution: mainly in eastern Germany and at higher altitudes
- Length: 30 millimeters (males), 35 millimeters (females)
- Colour: green with brown markings on the back
- Wings: body length
- Diet: mainly vegetable food, also small insects
- Singing: very loud, from noon to night
- Activity: diurnal
- Feature: can hardly fly
- Habitat: damp meadows, pastures, alluvial forests
- Observation: June to October
frequently asked Questions
Can grasshoppers bite?Some species of grasshoppers, for example representatives of the biting cricket family, can bite. The bite of native species is only perceived by humans as a pinch. Locusts only bite when they feel threatened.
Are there plagues of locusts in Germany?In Africa, millions of migratory locusts destroy entire crops. Most species native to Germany are solitary and do not occur in large numbers. Scientists fear an increase in migratory locusts in Europe due to climate change.
How do locusts produce the chirping?The chirping of the locusts serves to defend their territory and to court a female. Usually only the males sing. In some species, females also chirp in response to the courtship song. The sounds are produced by shrill organs or by rubbing the legs on the wings.