Grasshopper vs. Cricket Sounds, Anatomy, and Habitats

Grasshoppers and crickets often get lumped together. After all, they both hop, chirp, and love grass.

But grasshopper vs. cricket identification isn't just a toss-up of lookalikes. These two insects come from the same order, Orthoptera, but split into different suborders and live wildly different lives.

Grasshoppers fall under the suborder Caelifera. Crickets, including mole crickets and bush crickets, belong to the suborder Ensifera. That split sets the stage for some big differences in behavior, body structure, and sound-making skills.

Appearance and Anatomy

Grasshoppers and crickets both have chewing mouthparts and three pairs of legs. Most crickets have slender front legs like grasshoppers; only mole crickets have notably thick, shovel-like forelegs for digging.

Crickets are d