The Orthopterans include grasshoppers, crickets and katydids. They are some of the most recognized insects in the world. Their relatively large body sizes and sometimes high population densities attract the notice of even casual observers. Despite this, grasshoppers historically received little attention in the North. Studies have largely been restricted to very accessible areas, and insufficient time was spent for comprehensive inventories.

Recent sampling throughout northern North America has expanded the area of coverage, and guides have been produced for the NWT and Alaska. At the same time, web-based identification tools and citizen science platforms have engaged and empowered us all. These tools have resulted in both new distribution data and new species records for the North.

Grasshoppers and their relatives are important in many ways. They often occur in large numbers and have substantial ecological impact. They may eat their weight in plant tissue every day and can influence the composition of plant communities. They also hasten the degradation of cellulose and contribute significantly to the cycling of nutrients. Many bird species feed on grasshoppers and reptiles and amphibians are also major consumers. Some birds may rely heavily on this food source, especially during peaks in grasshopper populations. Sandhill cranes feed on the relatively large striped sedge grasshopper in fens and on clear-winged grasshopper along roadsides. Grasshoppers are 50 to 75% crude protein and thus highly nutritious. Adding to their interest, many grasshoppers have complex behaviour patterns, both auditory and visual.

The chirping or whistling-like sounds that they make can often be used to identify the species. These sounds are made by either rubbing one part of the body against another (stridulation) or by suddenly flexing stiffened membranes (crepitation).

Grasshoppers in the NWT may be found in meadows, wetlands, forest edges, disturbed areas, and tundra; in fact, grasshoppers inhabit all terrestrial habitats of the NWT except for very dense woodlands. Many of the grasshoppers found in the North are generalist species that have wide ranges in Canada and the USA. These species are found in a variety of natural habitats but are also well-adapted to take advantage of disturbed areas. This group of grasshoppers is represented by species such the clear-winged grasshopper, crackling forest grasshopper, and northern spur-throat.

Some species are typical of the northern part of the Canadian prairies and may have spread into the NWT during ancient periods of warmer climate. These species include the coral-winged grasshopper, speckle-winged rangeland grasshopper, and Kennicott’s spurthroat. Today, their northern habitats consist of patches of relatively warm meadows with abundant native grasses. Their range in the NWT is primarily limited to the areas of Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie Valley. Included in this group are the most recent additions to the list of NWT grasshoppers, the two-striped grasshopper and Huron short-winged grasshopper. These species were found in the NWT for the first time only in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Another group of grasshoppers that is of great interest comprises those species that are found only in the North. This group includes three species in the NWT, the Arctic club-horned grasshopper, Brook’s pink-shanked grasshopper, and the tundra grasshopper (also known as Nordic mountain grasshopper). All of these species likely survived in the North during the last ice age. The first two are closely related to more southern species that could have become isolated in the North during the expansion of the ice sheets. The Arctic club-horned grasshopper is found mainly in northern tundra and is the only grasshopper known to occur on the Arctic islands. The Brook’s pink-shanked grasshopper lives in dry tundra and warm, grassy slopes. It displays a high degree of variation between populations, so much so that at least one variety may be found only in the NWT.

The Tundra grasshopper belongs to a group that is very diverse in southern Canada, and it is unclear which species may be its closest relatives. This interesting grasshopper is found in the NWT, Yukon, and Alaska through northern Asia and Europe, extending into southern Europe in the alpine tundra of higher mountains. Its distribution today closely mirrors the pattern of glacial refugia during the last ice age.

Orthopterans can be useful indicators of environmental change. The diversity, functional importance, sensitivity to disturbance, ease of identification, and ease of sampling make them useful indicators of the state of the natural environment. Grasshopper assemblages respond to disturbances associated with human land use and their responses may be considered along with information from other groups such as plants. These insects appear to be sensitive to the changing climate. This is not surprising, given that small changes in weather from one year to the next can have major effects on the abundance of local populations. In recent years, some grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids have been found to be spreading north in southern Canada and adjacent USA, and the rate of spread for some is remarkably rapid. Warming in the NWT may affect different species in different ways. Generalist species will likely expand their ranges, while the range of the most northern species may decrease. Environmental factors may interact in unpredictable ways. For example, species associated with south-facing slopes may expand their ranges if aridity and fire frequency lead to an expansion of native meadows. However, these same species may decline if warmer weather or higher precipitation allow trees to grow into their meadow habitats. A robust sampling program will be critical in understanding the changes that are beginning to occur within the insect communities of northern Canada.

There are 25 species of Orthopterans that have been confirmed present in the NWT and three species are expected to be present.