Orthoptera is an order of over 20,000 species of insects, including grasshoppers , locusts , crickets , katydids , and wētā. They are divided into two suborders: Ensifera (katydids, crickets, and camel crickets) and Caelifera (pygmy sand crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts). Orthopterans have four wings (when present), with the forewings being narrow and the hindwings broad, and folded when at rest. They have chewing mouthparts and go through simple metamorphosis. They play a vital role in their ecosystems as herbivores and a food source for predators. Some species are considered pests, while others, like crickets, are increasingly utilized as a protein-rich food source .

Which insects belong to the Orthoptera group?

The Orthoptera order includes over 20,000 species, divided into Ensifera and Caelifera suborders. Ensifera Crickets (family Gryllidae) Katydids (family Tettigoniidae) Giant wētā (genus Deinacrida ) Raspy crickets (family Gryllacrididae) Leaf-rolling crickets (subfamily Gryllacridinae) Mole crickets (family Gryllotalpidae) Jerusalem crickets (subfamily Stenopelmatinae) Cone-headed grasshoppers (subfamily Conocephalinae) Meadow katydids (genus Orchelimum ) Shield-backed katydids (subfamily Tettigoniinae) Caelifera Grasshoppers Locusts Pygmy grasshoppers (family Tetrigidae) Pygmy sand crickets (family Tridactylidae) Orthopterans are abundant in tropical regions and common in temperate zones during summer. Most are plant feeders with chewing mouthparts. They play a vital role in their ecosystems, influencing plant communities and serving as a food source for predators.

What are some physical features of Orthoptera insects?

Orthoptera insects, including grasshoppers , crickets , and katydids , have distinctive physical features. When present, they typically have four wings; the forewings are generally long and narrow, containing many veins, and are somewhat thickened. These hardened forewings, which have a leathery consistency, are known as tegmina. The hindwings are broad with many veins and are usually folded like a fan beneath the forewings when at rest. Orthopterans also have mandibulate mouthparts adapted for chewing and undergo simple metamorphosis. The females have ovipositors, some concealed by ventral abdominal segments, while others are as long as the body. The hind legs, though useful for walking, are primarily used for leaping. The large muscle in the femur, the hinged attachment of the tibia to the femur, and the tendon extending within the leg from the femur to the end of the tarsus are particularly important.

How do Orthoptera insects move and produce sound?

Orthopterans use their hind legs for leaping, aided by a large muscle in the femur and a hinged attachment of the tibia to the femur. Some species have hind legs adapted for swimming or burrowing. Orthopterans produce sound through stridulation. Grasshoppers move their hindleg across the front wing, using serrations on the femur to rub against veins on the tegmen. Crickets and katydids shuffle their front wings together, using a file on one wing to rasp against a scraper on the other. Some grasshoppers create a crackling sound in flight using stiff veins in their hindwings. Orthopterans perceive sound through tympanic organs on the abdomen or front tibiae. They also use sensory hairs on their cerci, head, and other body parts, as well as Johnston’s organ in the antenna.

What do Orthoptera insects usually eat?

Orthoptera is an insect order that includes grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Most orthopterans are herbivorous, feeding on leaves, stems, and seeds, which shapes vegetation patterns and contributes to nutrient cycling. While many orthopterans eat a wide variety of plants, some species are limited to a single plant or group of plants, or even specific parts of plants like seeds. However, some orthopterans supplement their diet with insects. For example, tree crickets consume flowers, leaves, aphids, and weak insects, while some katydids actively prey on insects.

How do Orthoptera insects affect the environment and humans?

Orthoptera insects significantly impact both the environment and humans. They serve as a vital food source for various predators like birds and reptiles, influencing local food webs and contributing to nutrient cycling as herbivores that shape plant communities. Some Orthoptera also act as pollinators. However, many orthopterans are harmful to agriculture, with grasshoppers causing widespread crop devastation and competing with livestock for forage. Humans use insecticides to control them. Conversely, crickets are increasingly utilized as a protein-rich food source due to their ease of farming and high iron content, offering a potential solution for iron-deficiency anemia.

Orthoptera

Images & Videos

Closeup of a female fork-tailed bush katydid, Scudderia furcata, showing its long antennae and curved ovipositor, perched on a piece of weathered wood.

D'Orbigny's round-eared bat (Tonatia silvicola) flying with wings spread wide, holding a green katydid in its mouth against a dark background.

Side-by-side comparison of a brown cricket on the left and a camouflaged grasshopper on the right, separated by a large white question mark.

Bowl containing fried crickets garnished with cilantro, alongside slices of fresh tomato, viewed from above with chopsticks placed beside the bowl.

A grasshopper clings to a green leaf while emerging from its old, translucent exoskeleton during molting.

A Great Green Bush-Cricket hangs from a grass stem while shedding its pale, empty exoskeleton, with a blurred orange and gray background.

Orthoptera

insect group

Written by

Ashley B. Gurney

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

What is Orthoptera?
Orthoptera is an order of over 20,000 species of insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, katydids, and wētā. They are divided into two suborders: Ensifera (katydids, crickets, and camel crickets) and Caelifera (pygmy sand crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts).

Orthopterans have four wings (when present), with the forewings being narrow and the hindwings broad, and folded when at rest. They have chewing mouthparts and go through simple metamorphosis. They play a vital role in their ecosystems as herbivores and a food source for predators. Some species are considered pests, while others, like crickets, are increasingly utilized as a protein-rich food source.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Orthoptera
2. list of crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Which insects belong to the Orthoptera group?
The Orthoptera order includes over 20,000 species, divided into Ensifera and Caelifera suborders.

Ensifera
- Crickets (family Gryllidae)
- Katydids (family Tettigoniidae)
- Giant wētā (genus Deinacrida)
- Raspy crickets (family Gryllacrididae)
- Leaf-rolling crickets (subfamily Gryllacridinae)
- Mole crickets (family Gryllotalpidae)
- Jerusalem crickets (subfamily Stenopelmatinae)
- Cone-headed grasshoppers (subfamily Conocephalinae)
- Meadow katydids (genus Orchelimum)
- Shield-backed katydids (subfamily Tettigoniinae)
Caelifera
- Grasshoppers
- Locusts
- Pygmy grasshoppers (family Tetrigidae)
- Pygmy sand crickets (family Tridactylidae)
Orthopterans are abundant in tropical regions and common in temperate zones during summer. Most are plant feeders with chewing mouthparts. They play a vital role in their ecosystems, influencing plant communities and serving as a food source for predators.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Orthoptera
2. list of crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some physical features of Orthoptera insects?
Orthoptera insects, including grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids, have distinctive physical features. When present, they typically have four wings; the forewings are generally long and narrow, containing many veins, and are somewhat thickened. These hardened forewings, which have a leathery consistency, are known as tegmina. The hindwings are broad with many veins and are usually folded like a fan beneath the forewings when at rest. Orthopterans also have mandibulate mouthparts adapted for chewing and undergo simple metamorphosis. The females have ovipositors, some concealed by ventral abdominal segments, while others are as long as the body.

The hind legs, though useful for walking, are primarily used for leaping. The large muscle in the femur, the hinged attachment of the tibia to the femur, and the tendon extending within the leg from the femur to the end of the tarsus are particularly important.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Orthoptera: Distinguishing taxonomic features
2. dipteran: Antennae
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do Orthoptera insects move and produce sound?
Orthopterans use their hind legs for leaping, aided by a large muscle in the femur and a hinged attachment of the tibia to the femur. Some species have hind legs adapted for swimming or burrowing.

Orthopterans produce sound through stridulation. Grasshoppers move their hindleg across the front wing, using serrations on the femur to rub against veins on the tegmen. Crickets and katydids shuffle their front wings together, using a file on one wing to rasp against a scraper on the other. Some grasshoppers create a crackling sound in flight using stiff veins in their hindwings.

Orthopterans perceive sound through tympanic organs on the abdomen or front tibiae. They also use sensory hairs on their cerci, head, and other body parts, as well as Johnston’s organ in the antenna.
1 Britannica Source
1. Orthoptera: Sound production and hearing
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do Orthoptera insects usually eat?
Orthoptera is an insect order that includes grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Most orthopterans are herbivorous, feeding on leaves, stems, and seeds, which shapes vegetation patterns and contributes to nutrient cycling. While many orthopterans eat a wide variety of plants, some species are limited to a single plant or group of plants, or even specific parts of plants like seeds.

However, some orthopterans supplement their diet with insects. For example, tree crickets consume flowers, leaves, aphids, and weak insects, while some katydids actively prey on insects.
1 Britannica Source
1. Orthoptera: Food
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do Orthoptera insects affect the environment and humans?
Orthoptera insects significantly impact both the environment and humans. They serve as a vital food source for various predators like birds and reptiles, influencing local food webs and contributing to nutrient cycling as herbivores that shape plant communities. Some Orthoptera also act as pollinators.

However, many orthopterans are harmful to agriculture, with grasshoppers causing widespread crop devastation and competing with livestock for forage. Humans use insecticides to control them. Conversely, crickets are increasingly utilized as a protein-rich food source due to their ease of farming and high iron content, offering a potential solution for iron-deficiency anemia.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Orthoptera, (order Orthoptera), order of more than 20,000 insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, katydids, wētā, and close relatives. The group is divided into the suborders Ensifera (katydids, crickets, and camel crickets) and Caelifera (pygmy sand crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts). Orthopterans, abundant in tropical regions throughout the world in both numbers of species and individuals, are common in the summer months in temperate regions, when their relatively large size and chirping sounds attract considerable attention. Most are plant feeders, with mouthparts adapted for chewing.

Importance

Orthopterans play a vital role in the health and functioning of the many ecosystems they inhabit. As herbivores, they influence plant communities by consuming leaves, stems, and seeds, thus shaping vegetation patterns, plant evolution, and contributing to nutrient cycling. They are a significant food source for a wide variety of predators, including birds, reptiles, small mammals, spiders, and other insects, and are important to local food webs. Some species, especially those in tropical areas, may act as pollinators, inadvertently transferring pollen as they visit flowers in search of nectar or shelter. The presence and abundance of orthopterans can serve as indicators of ecosystem health, and the populations of many groups have been in decline with threats such as global warming, habitat loss, and the broad use of insecticides.

Among the orthopterans are many species that are either harmful to agricultural products or are considered pests. Grasshoppers are capable of causing widespread devastation of the agricultural crops grown in many countries throughout the world. In cattle-growing regions there often is competition between grasshoppers and livestock for available forage. Mormon crickets (a common name for species of the genus Anabrus that originated during the early years of the Mormon settlement in Utah) are major pests of both crops and open rangeland in the western part of the U.S. during seasons that are favorable for their development.

While many orthopterans have long been eaten by humans, crickets are increasingly used as a source of protein-rich food in many places. Crickets are easy to farm and have high amounts of iron, making them potentially valuable sources of nutrients for the one billion people worldwide who suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, in particular pregnant women and preschool children. In addition to direct consumption, protein powers formed of ground crickets are available and can be added to baked goods or smoothies. See also entomophagy.

Orthoptera

Importance

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