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A large marsh grasshipper standing on a fallen branch. It's a green grasshopper with black and yellow banding on the knees of the hind leg

Female large marsh grasshopper © Brian Eversham

Large marsh grasshopper

The UK's largest native grasshopper is also one of its rarest, found only on wetlands in a few parts of England.

Enw gwyddonol

Stethophyma grossum

Pryd i'w gweld

Nymphs: May to August
Adults: July to October

Species information

Category

Ystadegau

Length: 22-36mm

Statws cadwraethol

Classified as 'Near Threatened' on the GB Red List.

Ynghylch

The large marsh grasshopper is the largest native species of grasshopper in the UK. It's extremely rare and can only be found in a few regions of England, usually on the wettest parts of bogs or fenland. It was once found more widely across southern and eastern England, but suffered from the drainage of wetlands. Reintroductions are helping to restore the large marsh grasshopper to some parts of its former range.

Adults feed on the seedheads of grasses, rushes and sedges. They are active on warm, sunny days, when the distinctive 'clicking' song of the male can be heard. Females lay an elongated egg pod, containing up to 14 eggs, at the base of grass stems. The eggs don't hatch until the following spring.

Sut i'w hadnabod

A large grasshopper. It's usually olive green to yellowish green, though some individuals can have a lot of pinkish purple on them. The hind legs are distinctively coloured, with yellow bands either side of the black knees, and bright red undersides to the thighs (femora). The wings are long with a pale yellowish stripe on the leading edge. The song is a distinctive click, often given in a short series at a pace of two or three clicks per second.

Dosbarthiad

In the UK, it is only found in a few areas of the New Forest, the Dorset Heaths and Somerset. It has also recently been reintroduced to Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

Grasshoppers usually 'sing' by rubbing a row of pegs on their hind legs against their wings, creating a distinctive sound. The large marsh grasshopper does things a little differently, using its back leg to kick the tip of its wing.