This is another large group which has many representatives in the Wet Tropics area.

Some are quite stunning with spikes covering the body and vivid neon colours. Others are somewhat drab in coloration but can be very large in size. A commonly seen grasshopper in the Wet Tropics area is called a phrycta.

The White-kneed or Papuan Forest cricket

The White-kneed or Papuan Forest cricket is often seen on tracks in the night-time forest as it spends its time on the ground.

The shiny brown segmented body is about 5 cm (2 inches) in length and the legs with their white joints are even larger. The antennae can be over 10 cm (4 inches) long. White-kneed crickets tend to sit where they are until a bushwalker is nearly about to tread on them - then they make a very high jump into the air, often bumping into or landing on the bushwalker that startled them. Feeling the grab of little feet from all directions usually startles the bushwalker as well, but the crickets are harmless and jump off quickly. They live in the ground and emerge at night to feed on leaf litter and detritus.