A few weeks ago I saw a giant green grasshopper in one of the alder trees, but I didn’t have a camera handy, so I was excited to see another large grasshopper, especially when it turned out to be a cricket. I didn’t even know we had crickets in this country!
The photo isn’t brilliant because it was hiding deep down in the undergrowth, and I didn’t want to push the grass out of the way in case it leapt out of sight. However, you can see the giant legs, tiny wings, and earwig style tail. What does all this mean? The two tail appendages are called cerci and mark this cricket out as a male. The tiny wings with pale edges are also characteristic of the male Dark Bush Cricket. The females either have even tinier wings or none at all.
Dark Bush Crickets can be found in a variety of habitats, except for sandy places, and eat brambles, dandelions, and nettles. We have nettles in abundance and some brambles and dandelions.