I don't spend enough time looking at Grasshoppers as I should. Plus their identification isn't easy & I know I'm going to need some time reading the book to figure out the species involved. In reality, that's how many of us started out with other groups of wildlife, before we learnt the common species well enough to not need a field guide for them. I saw this Grasshopper on the path to my house & grabbed a photo with the mobile. On this occasion, I thought this individual was probably going to turn out to be a Field Grasshopper, which I confirmed after checking the excellent Photographic Guide to the Grasshoppers & Crickets of Britain & Ireland by Evans & Edmondson. Maybe some of the commoner Grasshopper species are finally sinking in.
The key features of Field Grasshoppers are: they are a medium-sized Grasshopper with sharply angled pronotal side keels. The pronotum forward of the sulcus is shorter than the length of the area behind it. Put in English, this is the white line on the top of the thorax is kinked and shorter in front than behind. Also, the dark wedges on the pronotum do not reach the rear edge (there is a grey band separating the dark from the start of the abdomen). Additionally, the wings reach beyond the hind knees. There are a few similar species:
- Heath Grasshopper: This also has the sharply angled side keels and the dark wedges reach to the rear of the pronotum. The habitat also helps,; as I don't live close to any heathland
- Mottled Grasshopper: They are smaller than Heath Grasshoppers. The males have clubbed antennae and the females have thicker antennae
- Rufous Grasshopper: They have pale-tipped clubbed antennae
- Woodland Grasshopper: They have distinctive contrasting white-tipped palps
- Common Green Grasshopper: They have moderately incurved side keels and they do not have any orange or red on the abdomen.