Here in the south of England on calcareous limestone grassland, and there is a lot of that in Dorset, we find the Stripe Winged Grasshopper.
Grasshoppers are tricky chaps to tie down as they can fly away from you (yes, they fly in short bursts rather than hop) as they are pretty sensitive to movement.
With the aid of a bat detector one can home in them and if you are really careful you can strike lucky, especially if the sun goes behind a cloud at the right moment!
They have white and black stripes on the outside of the wings but they are hard to tell apart from the Meadow Grasshopper which is similar. In any event, adults of the same species can vary!
All grasshoppers make differing sound patterns (stridulation) and that is the best way to identify them.
Grasshoppers are tricky chaps to tie down as they can fly away from you (yes, they fly in short bursts rather than hop) as they are pretty sensitive to movement.
With the aid of a bat detector one can home in them and if you are really careful you can strike lucky, especially if the sun goes behind a cloud at the right moment!
They have white and black stripes on the outside of the wings but they are hard to tell apart from the Meadow Grasshopper which is similar. In any event, adults of the same species can vary!
All grasshoppers make differing sound patterns (stridulation) and that is the best way to identify them.
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