Share

Dark Bush-cricket

Dark Bush-cricket ©Philip Precey

Dark bush-cricket

The Dark bush-cricket, as its name suggests, is dark brown or reddish. It can be found in woodlands, hedgerows and gardens throughout summer. Its irregular chirpings are a familiar sound of summer.

Scientific name

Pholidoptera griseoaptera

When to see

May to November

Species information

Statistics

Length: 1.5-1.7cm
Common.

About

A common invertebrate across the southern half of England, the noisy, irregular chirpings of the Dark bush-cricket are a familiar feature of late summer. Found in gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges, Dark Bush-crickets can often be seen in quite large numbers, sunbathing on Bramble patches. However, males are very aggressive, defending their territories against intruders. Females lay their eggs in late summer in rotting wood or bark crevices; they emerge 18 months later, so odd-year and even-year Dark bush-crickets never meet.

How to identify

The Dark bush-cricket lives up to its name: it's dark to red-brown, with a paler patch along the top of the thorax, and a yellow-green belly. The female has an up-curved ovipositor.

Distribution

Found in Central and Southern England, and South Wales.

Did you know?

Although the Dark bush-cricket is a familiar sound of summer, some of the more high-pitched songs of crickets and grasshoppers are inaudible to human ears - they can only be heard using a bat detector.