Slender groundhopper © Brian Eversham
Slender groundhopper
This stocky relative of grasshoppers is found on damp ground close to water.
Scientific name
Tetrix subulataWhen to see
Adults: mainly April to JulySpecies information
Category
Statistics
Length: 9-14mmConservation status
Locally common
About
The slender groundhopper is more strongly associated with damp habitats than the more widespread common groundhopper. It can usually be found on damp, bare ground at the edges of pools, rivers and other water sources. It can be very difficult to spot, camouflaged against mud and moss, but gives itself away by leaping if disturbed. Adults are active in spring and summer, laying eggs in the soil or low vegetation. They can spend the winter either as a nymph or an adult, though wintering adults don't reach sexual maturity until the following spring.How to identify
It looks like a stocky grasshopper, but the pronotum (the plate-like section behind the head) extends all the way along the back and past the end of its abdomen. Its wings peek out a little beyond the end of its pronotum.It could be confused with the more widespread common groundhopper, but that species has a more obviously raised ridge along the centre of the pronotum. The common groundhopper also usually has a shorter pronotum, which doesn't extend beyond the end of the abdomen. However, there is a rare form of common groundhopper with a longer pronotum, as well as a rare form of slender groundhopper with a shorter one!
The slender groundhopper is harder to separate from the much rarer Cepero's groundhopper. The key features are the top of the head and the middle femur. When viewed from the side, the top of the head looks rounded (more angular in Ceparo's groundhopper) and the top and bottom surfaces of the femur are smooth (undulating in Ceparo's).