Lesser marsh grasshopper
Females of this grasshopper often carry a pale stripe running the length of each wing, a marking males almost never show.
| Where | Damp grassland and roadside verges |
|---|---|
| Size | 13 to 23 mm body length |
| When | June to September |
This grasshopper varies from green to straw brown, with the keels along the sides of the pronotum running almost parallel rather than pinched inward. Females usually show a pale longitudinal stripe on the forewing that is rarely present in males.
It lives in damp grassland that floods in winter but also turns up on drier verges and waste ground, flying readily on warm days. Adults appear from early summer and remain common into autumn.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Green, Brown, White
Active
Day
To people
Common and harmless; does not bite or sting people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar size at about 10 to 23 mm, but flightless in both sexes with hindwings too short for flight, unlike the lesser marsh grasshopper's full length, flight-capable wings.
Questions
Is the Lesser marsh grasshopper dangerous to people?
Common and harmless; does not bite or sting people.
When can you see the Lesser marsh grasshopper?
The Lesser marsh grasshopper can be seen from June to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by VM, Vänersborgs Museum, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Crickets and grasshoppers›Grasshoppers›Chorthippus
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.