In the Summer months, the meadows are alive with the sound of grasshoppers (if you can hear them). There are vast numbers of grasshoppers, and if you very carefully stray just a few inches from the path, you will see them hopping away from you. Grasshoppers are generally smaller than Crickets, they have relatively short and quite thick antennae, whereas Crickets have very long and thin antennae. There are only a handful of species of Grasshoppers so identification isn't too complicated - in theory. Grasshoppers come in various shades of green and brown, which changes throughout the year. The main difference between them (apart from the sound) seems to be the shape and markings of the 'shoulder shield' or 'keel' or 'pronotum' (the bit between the head and wings).