David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
________________________________________________________Grasshoppers
and Crickets 2 – Speckled Bush Crickets
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymphs)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymphs)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (f, nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET
Leptophyes punctatissima (f, nymph)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET Leptophyes punctatissima
(m)
SPECKLED BUSH CRICKET Leptophyes punctatissima
(m) SPECKLED
BUSH CRICKET Leptophyes punctatissima (f)
·
The Speckled Bush Cricket
Leptophyes punctatissima
is one of the most abundant and visible of British bush
crickets – if you know how to spot them. These insects are found in the warmer southern
counties where they inhabit bushes, shrubs, and trees, and they rely on their
effective cryptic coloration for defence against predatory birds. They are not
infrequently to be found feeding on the pollen of flowers, being largely
vegetarian, and they are fond of sitting in the sunshine. The relative size of
the eponymous black ‘speckles’ decreases as the insects grow, so these are less
conspicuous in adults. As is often the case with bush crickets the shape of the
ovipositor is a useful identification feature – not
so much of a problem when looking for these insects in the UK, but certainly a
pointer when trying to separate them from other similar species in continental
Europe (and some of these may arrive in the UK in due course). In the UK they
are most likely to be confused with Oak Bush Crickets Meconema thalassinum, or
the recently arrived Southern Oak Bush Crickets M. meridionale,
and any of these species could turn up in well vegetated gardens (or sometimes
indoors!). As the climate warms in response to human activity it is likely that
the geographical range of L. punctatissima will
extend further northwards if suitable habitat is available.
-> Grasshoppers
and Crickets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50
-> Species Index, Common Names
-> Species Index, Scientific Names
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