Which insect is the closest relative to the grasshopper?

Which insect is the closest relative to the grasshopper? The cricket. Grasshoppers and crickets are both members of the insect order Orthoptera and share a relatively recent evolutionary relationship.

Grasshoppers generally belong to the suborder Caelifera, while crickets belong to Ensifera. Their shared traits include chewing mouthparts, incomplete metamorphosis, and enlarged hind legs adapted for jumping.

The two groups differ in several visible features. Grasshoppers usually have shorter antennae and are commonly active during the day, while crickets typically have long antennae and are often nocturnal.

Cockroaches are also part of the broader group Polyneoptera, but they belong to Blattodea rather than Orthoptera. Therefore, cricket is the standard canonical answer to this general-knowledge question.