ABSTRACT.In the grasshopperO.viridulus, two song parameters were analysed during post‐larval ontogeny. The impulse rate (i.e. the rate at which the femur pegs strike the forewing vein) shows a modulation during up‐ and downstrokes of the hindleg. During post‐larval development there is no detectable change in characteristic impulse intervals, indicating a constancy of the hindleg‐stroke movement irrespective of age. The impulse frequency spectrum also shows considerable constancy during post‐larval ontogeny. Apparently, the main song features, including the underlying motor pattern, are completed with the early song productions of