- Lifespan
- 1 year; adults live from summer through to autumn, with eggs overwintering
- Size & Weight
- 12–16 mm in length
- Habitat
- Dry, warm grasslands, field margins, and sunny slopes with short grass and bare ground.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout southern and central England, Wales, and parts of southern Scotland; absent from northern Scotland. Non-migratory; present May to November.
- Diet
- Herbivorous; feeds on grasses, clover, and other low vegetation.
- Predators
- Birds (particularly skylarks and pipits), spiders, small mammals, and parasitoid flies
- Mating Season
- July to September
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs in batches of 6–12 into soil using their ovipositor; eggs overwinter and hatch in spring; single generation per year
- Behaviour
- Males produce distinctive loud, repetitive chirring calls to attract females by rubbing their hind legs against their forewings. Highly territorial; males are more vocal and active than females. They are strong jumpers and heat-seeking, favoring the warmest microhabitats available.