Tettigonia viridissima

This species can be encountered in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, in the Near East, and in North Africa, especially in meadows, grasslands, prairies and occasionally in gardens at an elevation up to above sea level. ==Description==

The adult males grow up to long, while females reach . This insect is most often completely green (but there are specimens completely yellowish or with yellow legs), excluding a rust-colored band on top of the body. The larvae are green and the imago show a thin brown longitudinal stripe on their back. The ovipositor can be seen from the fifth stage; the wings appear in both genders from the sixth stage. ==Biology==

Tettigonia viridissima is carnivorous and arboreal. Its diet is mostly composed of flies, caterpillars and larvae. Unlike grasshoppers, it is essentially active by day and night, as testified by its endless crepuscular and nocturnal singing. The species can bite painfully but is not particularly aggressive. It is best to avoid holding the insect in the fist, as that almost guarantees a bite. They can fly, but they tend to avoid flying where possible. Most often they move "on foot" or jump, which allows them to travel about in bushes and trees. ==Gallery==

File:Heuschrecke MG 6232.jpg|Males can be recognized by the absence of the ovipositor File:Tettigonia viridissima rule.jpg|Females can be recognized by the ovipositor File:Tettigonia virdissima nymph on Phleum pratense.jpg|Nymph on Phleum pratense File:Grande sauterelle verte - Portrait.jpg|Anatomy of the head File:Tettigonia viridissima Mandibules.jpg|Mandibles File:Bulle auditive Grande Sauterelle Verte.jpg|Hearing bubble on the forelimb File:Tettigonia viridissima -- Grünes Heupferd.webm|Close-Up of a Tettigonia viridissima File:Grüne Heupferd (Tettigonia viridissima) bei der Häutung.jpg|Female during ecdysis (molting) File:Green grasshopper eating a butterfly 01(js), Lodz (Poland).jpeg|Tettigonia viridissima eating a butterfly File:Tettigonia viridissima, Lodz(Poland)03(js).jpg|Tettigonia viridissima eating a moth ==References==