This Jersey Grasshopper Euchorthippus declivus (Fr. Criquet du brome) joined me at the swimming pool the other day and posed obligingly on my towel. Thanks to Luxembourg based entomologist Raoul Gerend for identifying the species for me. I knew it was a grasshopper, but beyond that I was baffled. That's partly because it isn't in my go to general insect guide (Michael Chinery's Insects of Britain and Western Europe) and partly because it turns out to be a long-winged variant. These are apparently not uncommon, but not the norm, so most pictures online show a grasshopper with wings that are shorter than the abdomen.
This is a species of tall dry calcareous grassland. Raoul says that the white stripe was the indicator for him to be able to suggest an identification.
The adults are at their peak in August, and can be found throughout France. This one, with its long wings and white submarginal strip on the elytrae, is female. The colour can vary between individuals, from brown and grey to yellowish and greenish.
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