Wildlife watch: Speckled bush-cricket
- BBC Gardeners' World Magazine
Published: Monday, 1 July 2024 at 10:00 am
Speckled bush-crickets are found in scrub, hedgerows and bramble in summer months. Here's why you should look out for them and how to grow plants to help them thrive
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The speckled bush-cricket is a small, bright green cricket that gets its name from its all-over covering of black speckles. It has short wings, long, thin antennae and a dark orange stripe on its back (the male has a thicker stripe than the female). The female has a long, curved ovipositor (egg-laying tube). The speckled bush cricket cannot fly, but gets around by jumping, using its powerful back legs.
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Found in scrub, hedgerows and gardens in summer, it seems particularly fond of bramble. It’s mostly active at dusk and at night, and feeds on flowers and leaves.
In late summer, adult males attract females by rubbing their wings together, although this 'song' is too high pitched to be audible to most humans. After mating, females lay their eggs in tree bark or plant stems, and the hatched nymphs overwinter in the same spot. Speckled bush-cricket nymphs are smaller than the adults, with more pronounced speckles and no orange stripe or wings. They emerge from winter torpor in late spring and go through six moults before metamorphosing into an adult in summer. They breed and then die before winter.
How to help the speckled bush cricket
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As the speckled bush cricket seems fond of bramble, leave a wild corner in your garden where bramble can flourish. Avoiding cutting plant stems back in autumn can also help them, as the nymphs may be using them to overwinter.
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