Orthopterans carry enlarged hind legs adapted for jumping and produce species-specific songs by rubbing one body part against another, a behavior called stridulation.

The order divides into Caelifera (the grasshoppers and locusts), which generally have short antennae and sing with the hind legs against the wings, and Ensifera (the crickets and katydids), which have long antennae and sing with one wing against the other. Most species feed on plants, and a few, like migratory locusts, periodically swarm and reshape regional agriculture.