Grasshoppers and Kin

Order Orthoptera

Grasshoppers, crickets and katydids make up the order Othoptera, the straight winged insects. A varied group, orthopterans include some agricultural pests, including the plague of locusts mentioned in the Bible’s Exodus. Some orthopterans never develop full-sized wings, and some may be parthenogenetic. Males of some species sing, crickets by rubbing the two wings togehter, by clacking their hind wings during flight or by rubbing the hind legs against the front wings. Some “wingless” species grow just enough wing to sing.