How to Tell a Male Grasshopper From a Female Grasshopper

Place the grasshopper in a clear container.

Hold up a magnifying glass to the container. Look at the features of the end segment of the grasshopper's abdomen. A female grasshopper has two pairs of triangular valves at the end of its abdomen. The female uses these appendages to shovel out a hole in the ground in which to lay her eggs. Male grasshoppers lack these dual valves; instead, the end segment of the male bears only a single plate.

Watch the habit of the grasshopper in its natural habitat in late summer. Female grasshoppers lay eggs in the soil instantly after mating.