Common Green Grasshopper

Omocestus viridulus are usually green all over, but some may have brown coloration on the sides. In Scandinavia, they are usually green or light brown. The males do not have any red coloring on the abdomen and possess a noticeably long ovipositor, characteristics that help distinguish it from the similar species O. rufipes and O. haemorrhoidalis. The eyes of this species may be brown or yellow. The typical body length is 17–20 millimetres (0.67–0.79 in). They possess a strongly darkened region of the hind wing.

Omocestus viridulus typically lives in moderately wet regions around Europe except north of the Arctic Circle, and it is distributed widely over Britain. Its range extends east as far as Siberia and Mongolia. Their preferred habitat consists of areas with longer grass.

This species prefers to feed on the more common, abundant grass species and this may promote greater diversity of vegetation. O. viridulus feeds on grass from the genera Dactylis, Agrostis, Anthoxanthum, Lolium and Holcus. The life cycle begins with the females laying their clutch of eggs in the top layer of soil or near the root of the grass stalks. The young are called nymphs and emerge the next April. These nymphs resemble miniature versions of the adults with immature wings. After about a month of moulting their exoskeleton several times, they mature into adults with working wings. There is one generation of O. viridulus a year, and they are usually seen between the months of April and October.