Shepton woman finds rare pink grasshoppers in garden

By Laura Linham 26th Jun 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

A Shepton Mallet woman has found six rare pink grasshoppers in her garden after spotting them while picking raspberries.

Natasha Welch, 61, noticed one of the insects on a blade of grass before realising there were several more nearby. The pink colouring is caused by a rare genetic condition called erythrism, which creates an overproduction of pigment and turns the insects pink.

Green meadow grasshoppers are common across the UK and are usually green or brown. Reports suggest people have only about a one per cent chance of seeing a pink grasshopper in their lifetime, while some entomologists estimate that around one in 500,000 grasshoppers is born with the unusual colouring.

Natasha, from Shepton Mallet, said: "Aren't they amazing? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them — I had never seen an odd-coloured grasshopper before.

"The pink makes it special. I don't know why they chose my garden, but I am very happy they did."

She said the insects appeared to be in only one centimetre-wide stretch of her garden, adding that she hoped they would survive and grow into normal-sized grasshoppers.

Natasha first found a pink grasshopper in her 70ft-long garden in June 2025. She said she later spotted more this year and believes she may now be seeing the next generation.

She said: "The mother-of-two said: 'I have hundreds of normal grasshoppers in my garden, as I walk down the grass you can see them.

"'But it was only this year I noticed multiple tiny pink ones — the fact that there are six of them is incredible, and you can see all of their interesting markings.

"'I read that grasshoppers lay their eggs in the dirt or on the back of a leaf or something, so these have obviously been laid last year by the big one I spotted and then the babies hatched this year.'"

Natasha took pictures of the insects and sent them to the team at Somerset Wildlife Trust, who informed her of how rare the invertebrates are.

She said: "I went down after the storm yesterday to make sure they were all still there and they are. I am hoping they'll survive to grow into normal-sized grasshoppers."

Natasha, who adores nature, said her son Jordan, 26, has also been enjoying the discovery. She added: "He absolutely loves them and they land on his hands — I'm jealous.

"I think they are happy here in their little spot because I have four cats in my garden so birds don't really come nearby, and I don't cut my grass very often. They haven't really moved from this area in my garden for weeks. I hope they are here to stay."

Original reporting: SWNS.