[1] This species is native of the steppes of Central Asia, but it is nowadays present in most of Europe, in eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East (the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Carpathians, the Caucasus and Siberia).

[2] They can be encountered in the alpine dry meadows, glades, heath, mountain pastures and grasslands, at an elevation up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.

Males have developed functional wings (oft 20–27.3 millimetres (0.79–1.07 in)[3] covering the abdomen, while females have rudimentary wings (of 12.3–20.1 millimetres (0.48–0.79 in)),[3] shorter than abdomen and unfit for flight (brachyptery).

[3] The hind tibiae have a characteristic bright red color that extended to the inner face of femora.

Males use a range of different stridulations for signaling their presence in the territory, for engaging in a dispute with a rival of the same sex or for courting females.