Grasshoppers, Crickets and Locusts

(Gryllidae) This family includes about 900 species. Insects of this family are of medium size and their colours are predominantly brown and black. Their anal cerci are long and not segmented, and antennae are long and pilose. Males of these insects make sounds to attract female by rubbing their forewings with each other forward and backward. Members of this family feed on cultivated plants.

(Gryllotalpidae) Insects of this family live in tunnels under the soil surface feeding on any plant parts they encounter while they roam. Therefore, they often cause serious damage to the roots of cultivated crops whether by feeding or by agitating the soil around them and causing the plants to wilt. Their colours are brownish or light brownish. They are characterized by their forelegs that are mutated to drill and their back legs that are suitable for jumping. Their forewing is short and thick and the rear wing is membranous and long.

(Acrididae) This is a very big family of the Orthoptera order spread all over the world and having 8,000 species. Nymphs look like adults. They are medium to big in size depending on the species. Adults are generally brownish or greenish, but for some species the colour varies according to the colour of the environment where they develop. Their antennae are short and their back legs are mutated to jump. For most species, females have a small borer which they use to deposit eggs in the soil, but some deposit eggs in stems of plants. Their wings are generally very developed. However, there are also species that are non-winged. Many species squeak. Young individuals and adults are exclusively herbivorous and many species feed mainly on weeds. Many species migrate and they belong to multiple families. This family can cause heavy damages to agriculture.