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Meadow and hedgerow · Grasshoppers, crickets, mantises and stick insects
Roesel's bush-cricket
Roeseliana roeselii
A chunky brown and green bush-cricket with very long, thin antennae and a cream crescent on the side of its body.
- Size
- About 2cm long
- Look for it
- June to October
- Where
- Long, rough grass on verges, field edges and meadows, mainly in the south and east
My spotter's list
Hops after you, antennae waving. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
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Bush-cricket
Good to know
Six things about the bush-cricket
TellCricket or grasshopper?
Look at the antennae. A bush-cricket's are longer than its body. A grasshopper's are short.
SongA song like power lines
The male makes a long, high buzz that sounds like the crackle of overhead cables. Many adults cannot hear it.
WingsIt sings with its wings
Unlike a grasshopper, it rubs one wing against the other.
EarsEars in its knees
A bush-cricket's ears are on its front legs, just below the knee.
SwordA blade for laying eggs
The female has a curved, sword-like tube at the tail. She uses it to slip her eggs into grass stems.
SpreadOn the move
It was once found only round a few estuaries. It has spread across southern England, often along road verges.
The real thing
Photos of the bush-cricket
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Use a bat detector, or a child with sharp ears, on a hot afternoon in rough grass. Then creep towards the sound: it stops if you tread heavily.
Lend a handHow to help
Rough, uncut grass along roads and railways is how this insect travels. Verges left long are its motorways.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
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Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
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