Short-winged rice grasshopper
Despite short wings that reach only about halfway down its abdomen, this grasshopper is a common rice field pest across South and East Asia.
| Where | Rice fields across South and East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 26 to 29 mm body length |
| When | March to January |
Adults are yellowish green to light brown, with wings that cover only about half the length of the abdomen, giving the species its common name. Measured specimens show males around 26 to 29 millimeters long, with females somewhat larger.
It lives in and around rice paddies across Indochina, the Malay Archipelago and southern China, where it has long been recognized as a pest of rice, feeding on the leaves and stems of growing plants.
Traits
Habitat
Farmland
Colour
Green, Brown, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Not known to bite or harm people; a plant pest rather than a health risk.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Full length wings that reach beyond the tip of the abdomen, unlike the short wings covering only about half the abdomen in the Short-winged rice grasshopper.
Questions
Is the Short-winged rice grasshopper dangerous to people?
Not known to bite or harm people; a plant pest rather than a health risk.
When can you see the Short-winged rice grasshopper?
The Short-winged rice grasshopper can be seen from March to January, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Natural History Museum, CC0, GBIF Licence
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Crickets and grasshoppers›Grasshoppers›Pseudoxya
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.