Grasshopper vs Locust: The Bug and the Phone Service

The grasshopper vs locust question has a surprisingly simple answer — and a second, completely unrelated one. The simple answer first: a locust is a grasshopper. Not a cousin, not a lookalike — the same kind of insect, behaving differently under certain conditions. The second answer only matters if the "Grasshopper" you had in mind is the business phone service, because then the real comparison is about how your company answers its calls, not about insects.

This article covers both sides, briefly and honestly. If you came for the bug, you'll be done in a couple of minutes. If you're a business owner weighing Grasshopper against other ways of handling your phone line, keep reading — the rest is for you.

Grasshopper vs locust: the insect answer in plain terms

Locusts are certain species of grasshopper with an unusual trick: when their population gets crowded, they change. Their colour shifts, they become more active, and instead of avoiding each other they start gathering — a solitary insect turning into a swarming one. Scientists call this a phase change, and it's triggered by conditions on the ground, not by a different species showing up.

The swarm is the difference that matters in practice. Ordinary grasshoppers nibble crops one field at a time. A locust swarm can strip farmland across a huge area, which is why locusts get headlines and grasshoppers don't. So the whole answer fits in one line: every locust is a grasshopper, but only some grasshopper species can become locusts, and only when crowding pushes them into it.

If you meant Grasshopper the phone service

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system aimed at small businesses. In plain terms, it gives your business its own phone number and routes calls to the phones you already have — usually your mobile. As of writing, its plans typically include things like extensions, call forwarding and voicemail, but features and pricing change over time, so check their site for current details before deciding anything.

It's a reasonable fit for a one-person business whose main problem is separating work calls from personal calls on the same phone. If that's the whole problem, a virtual number solves it neatly, and it's a well-established option in that space. But it's worth being clear about what it does and doesn't do before you compare it with anything else.

Grasshopper vs locust when it's really about your business phone

Here's the catch that matters: a virtual phone system routes calls, but it doesn't answer them. The call still lands on your mobile, and if you're up a ladder, mid-appointment or at dinner, the caller reaches your voicemail — if they wait that long. Plenty of callers don't leave a message at all; they hang up and ring the next business on their list, and you never find out.

Human-staffed answering services solve that problem with real people picking up, and they're genuinely the better choice for some situations: delicate complaints, high-value negotiations, anything emotionally charged. The trade-off is that they usually cost more, and coverage can depend on the plan and the hours. So the honest comparison is three-way: a system that routes calls, a service where people answer them, and a newer option — an AI receptionist that answers every call itself.

What Ringhum does differently

Ringhum is an AI phone receptionist for small and mid-sized businesses. Instead of forwarding the call to your mobile and hoping you're free, it answers — around the clock, including evenings, weekends and holidays. It books appointments straight into your calendar, takes orders and reservations, takes detailed messages with the caller's name, number and reason for calling, and answers customers on WhatsApp as well as on the phone. You get a summary after each call, so you decide what needs a call back.

The practical difference is that the call is handled the moment it comes in, not queued for whenever you're free. A caller asking "do you have anything tomorrow morning?" gets booked in on the spot instead of reaching a voicemail box. You can see exactly how it works on the Ringhum site and check the pricing page for what it would cost for a business your size.

One honest limit: an AI receptionist is built for routine calls — bookings, orders, opening hours, messages. For the conversations that need real human judgement, a person should take over, and Ringhum is set up to flag or pass those through rather than improvise.

A worked example: two Tuesdays for one plumber

Picture a self-employed plumber working alone, with a virtual phone number forwarding everything to a mobile. At 7:40 in the morning, driving to the first job, a new customer calls about a leaking hot water cylinder. The phone rings in the van, can't be answered safely, and goes to voicemail. No message is left. At 12:20, halfway under a floor, a tenant calls to arrange a visit at a rental property — voicemail again. At 6:15 in the evening, tools down, a third call comes in about a booking for next week. The caller assumes the business is closed and tries someone else in the morning.

Now the same Tuesday with an AI receptionist answering. At 7:40 the call is picked up on the second ring; the receptionist checks the calendar and books the cylinder job for Thursday morning, then sends the customer a confirmation. At 12:20 the tenant's visit is scheduled for the next afternoon, and a WhatsApp summary lands on the plumber's phone. At 6:15 the evening caller is booked in for Monday at 8 a.m. At the end of the day there's one short list of summaries to read over dinner — and nothing to chase. That's the difference between a system that rings your phone and one that answers it, and it's why trades businesses in particular tend to feel it first (more on that on the Ringhum for tradespeople page).

How to choose: a five-step checklist

1. Count your missed calls for one normal week. Check your call log each evening. If the answer is "almost none", a simple virtual number may genuinely be all you need.
2. Decide what a missed call is worth to you. For a restaurant it's a table for four; for a tradesperson it can be a whole job. The bigger that number feels, the more an answering solution makes sense.
3. Check current pricing on each provider's own site. Plans, features and prices change, for Grasshopper and everyone else. Compare what's actually on offer today, not what a review said last year.
4. Test before you commit. Call your own business number at a busy time and after hours, and listen to what a customer hears. Then do the same with any service you're trialling.
5. Set the human handover rule in advance. Decide which calls a real person must always handle — serious complaints, vulnerable callers, major contract discussions — and make sure whatever you choose escalates those to you instead of guessing.

The bottom line

Grasshopper vs locust, settled: in nature, it's the same insect with two behaviours — solitary grasshopper, swarming locust. In business phones, Grasshopper gives you a professional number and routes your calls; an AI receptionist answers them. Neither is wrong — they solve different problems, and the right pick depends on how many calls actually reach a person today.

The concrete next step takes one week and costs nothing: count your missed calls. If the answer is more than a couple, you know routing alone isn't enough. Have a look at Ringhum, run a trial alongside your current setup, and let the call summaries tell you which one earns its keep.

Frequently asked questions

Is a locust a different species from a grasshopper?

No. Locusts are particular grasshopper species that can switch behaviour when they get crowded — changing colour, becoming more active and gathering into swarms instead of staying solitary. It's the same animal in a different phase. Every locust is a grasshopper; only some grasshopper species have the ability to become locusts at all.

Is Grasshopper the same thing as an answering service?

No. Grasshopper is a virtual phone system: it provides a business number and forwards calls to your existing phones, with features like extensions and voicemail. You or your team still do the answering. An answering service — human-staffed or AI — picks up the call for you. Check Grasshopper's own site for its current feature list.

What happens to calls I miss with a virtual phone system?

Typically they go to voicemail. Some callers leave a message, but many simply hang up and dial the next business, especially for urgent jobs like leaks, lockouts or same-day bookings. You usually never learn those calls happened. That's the gap answering services and AI receptionists exist to close.

When should a real person answer instead of an AI receptionist?

For anything emotionally charged or high-stakes: serious complaints, bad news, sensitive personal situations, major contract negotiations. Routine calls — bookings, orders, opening hours, directions, messages — are where an AI receptionist is strongest. The sensible setup is AI first, with clear rules that escalate the sensitive calls to you directly.

Can I keep my business number if I switch services?

In most cases, yes. Number porting between phone providers is a standard, well-established process in many countries, though the exact steps and timing vary by region and carrier. Ask any provider you're considering how porting works with them before signing up, and don't cancel your old service until the transfer has fully completed.

A brief, honest note on where Ringhum fits: it exists for the routine calls that make up most of a small business's phone traffic — the bookings, orders, reservations, messages and WhatsApp questions that arrive at the worst possible moments. It isn't a replacement for your judgement on the difficult conversations, and it isn't trying to be. But if your missed-call count from the checklist above surprised you, that's exactly the gap it was built to fill.