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The grasshopper or cricket are various leaping insects of the genus Gryllus or Acheta, of the order Orthoptera nearly akin to the locusts. They are characterized by long and slender legs, the thighs of the hind legs are large and adapted for leaping; by large and delicate wings and by the wing covers extending far beyond the extremity of the abdomen. They are generally of a greenish colour.
There are several species. The house-grasshopper is the Acheta (Gryllus) domestica; the field-grasshopper is the Acheta (Gryllus) campestris; the mole-grasshopper is the Gryllotalpa vulgaris. The house-grasshopper of Europe is about 25 mm long, with antennae of about 38 mm long, of a pale yellowish colour mixed with brown. By the friction of the peculiarly-formed wing-covers the males produce that stridulous sound by which these insects are so well known, and which has become associated with ideas of cheerful domestic comfort.
They live in holes and crevices near fire places or in other warm situations, whence they come out at night to feed on crumbs and other fragments of food. The field-grasshopper makes a similar noise. The house-grasshopper was introduced into the United States, and there are several species of field-grasshopper there also.
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