In common with other orders of insects, Orthoptera have been advancing northwards over the last two decades. However so far no new species have reached Yorkshire since the publication of the definitive study (Marshall and Haes, Grasshoppers and Allied Insects of Great Britain and Ireland, 1988). However a number of species not seen after the middle of the twentieth century, and appearing as open dots on the Marshall and Haes distribution maps, have been rediscovered in recent years.
Excluding exotic introductions that can only survive in artificial conditions, seventeen species can be found in Yorkshire. Many however have a very limited distribution and several are confined to one or two sites. Further details of Yorkshire species and their distribution can be found on the Orthoptera Recording website www.orthoptera.org.uk
We highly recommend using iRecord to submit records of any sightings of Grasshoppers and allies from across Yorkshire as from there they can be directly picked up by the national recording scheme.
https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/
Recent Sightings:
2020
Roesel's Bush cricket (Roeseliana roeselii) reported by Sam Buckton. They were heard stridulating at St Nicholas Fields in York on 14th August 2020 (first VC62 record).
2019
Long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus fuscus) continues it's advance into Yorkshire with several records from the Ripon area. Also Roesel's Bush cricket (Roeseliana roeselii) has made the leap into North Yorkshire with a couple of records from the Ripon area too.
2012
Long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus fuscus), New to Yorkshire in 2012. Several singing males and ovipositing females were seen in the Thorne/Hatield area in October 2012. These are the first records in Yorkshire, the closest record being in North West Lincolnshire.
2011
The Speckled Bush-cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima) has been found breeding in large numbers at a site in West Hull, just east of the Humber Bridge. A single nymph was found in the centre of Beverley and at least 10 stridulating adults were found on 11 August 2011 at North Cave Wetlands. It seems that this species is recolonising Yorkshire. The best way to find it is to use a bat detector tuned to 40kHz. The typical sound is a loud sharp “crack” every few seconds; the insect itself is quite cryptic and difficult to spot.
