The bush-crickets and grasshoppers are best known for their songs, which are almost unique in the insect world, the cicadas being the only other gruop that produces comparable sounds. In fact, the word ‘cricket’ is derived from the Old French onomatopoeic word ‘criquer’, meaning ‘to crackle’. All the British species of bush-cricket, cricket, mole-cricket and grasshopper produce songs using various techniques; only the groundhoppers are silent.
