These noisy invertebrates can be seen in Otley’s fields and gardens from May to October. The sound, of course, is once again exhibitionist males, competing for female attention (see also: Wetherspoons, Friday night), but they do it in a somewhat unusual manner, by rubbing their legs against their wings. The resultant eggs are laid in the soil and will hatch from the following March. In the UK we have 30 of the 25,000 different species of Orthopteroids – the order of insects that grasshoppers belong to along with crickets, locusts, katydids etc. Colours vary across the camouflaged green/brown spectrum, but there is a barring effect on the sides, and apparently the undersides are very hairy (not the most helpful pointer, unless you’ve found a dead one).
By Neil Griffin Photo by Joyce Clerk
