Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids
Order Orthoptera
The Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Order Orthoptera) includes 1,030 species across 22 families and 248 genera in our directory.
About Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids
Orthoptera includes ~28,000 described species of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Desert locusts can form swarms covering 460 square miles containing up to 80 million individuals per square kilometer.
Economic Impact
A single large locust swarm can consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. The 2019-2021 East Africa locust crisis affected food security for 42 million people across multiple countries. Global crop losses from locusts can reach billions annually.
Ecological Role
Grasshoppers and crickets are a primary food source for birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Cricket farming is a growing industry - crickets require 12× less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein, using 2,000× less water.
Families in Orthoptera (22)
Species in Orthoptera (1,030)
Western Striped Cricket
Miogryllus lineatus
Western cypress Katydid
Inscudderia taxodii
White Mountain Grasshopper
Psychomastax inyo
White Sands Tree Cricket
Oecanthus beameri
White-crossed Grasshopper
Aulocara femoratum
White-marked Shieldback
Plagiostira albonotata
White-whiskered Grasshopper
Ageneotettix deorum
Willamette Short-wing Grasshopper
Melanoplus saltator
Willamette Wingless Grasshopper
Booneacris polita
Winchester Jerusalem Cricket
Ammopelmatus icenoglei
Winged Jerusalem Cricket
Stenopelmatus sartorianus
Wood-colored Short-wing Grasshopper
Melanoplus ligneolus
Wrangler Grasshopper
Circotettix rabula
Wymore's Shieldback
Idiostatus wymorei
Yavapai Camel Cricket
Ceuthophilus yavapai
Yavapai Monkey Grasshopper
Morsea dumicola
Yellow Shieldback
Ateloplus luteus
Yellow-belly Boopie
Boopedon flaviventris
Yellowish Spur-Throat Grasshopper
Melanoplus flavidus
Yosemite Shieldback
Decticita yosemite
Yuba Lake Jerusalem Cricket
Ammopelmatus yubalake
Zayante Sandhills Grasshopper
Trimerotropis infantilis
fast-tinkling trig
Anaxipha tinnulacita
half-winged conehead
Belocephalus subapterus
melodious ground cricket
Eunemobius melodius
mountain wood cricket
Gryllus montis
salt-marsh ground cricket
Allonemobius sparsalus
syncopated scaly cricket
Cycloptilum comprehendens
two-toothed scaly cricket
Cycloptilum bidens
western rock-loving field cricket
Gryllus saxatilis