David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
_______________________________________________________Grasshoppers
and Crickets 6 - Oak Bush Crickets
OAK BUSH CRICKET Meconema thalassinum (m)
OAK BUSH CRICKET Meconema thalassinum (m)
OAK BUSH CRICKET Meconema thalassinum (m)
OAK BUSH CRICKET Meconema
thalassinum (f) OAK BUSH CRICKET Meconema thalassinum
(f)
- Oak
Bush Crickets Meconema
thalassinum are fully winged as adults
and for much of the time they reside on the vegetation of deciduous trees,
particularly Oak Quercus spp.. Southern Oak Bush Crickets M. meridionale
(illustrated elsewhere on this web site) arrived in the UK early in the 21st
century. They were discovered in Surrey by Roger Hawkins, a significant
find as at the time this was the first new British orthopteroid
species to be discovered for more than 60 years. As it cannot fly this
insect is believed to have been accidentally imported in produce from
mainland Europe. The comparatively short wings (in both sexes) and the gently
curved ovipositor of the adult female M. meridionale
enable the observer to make a distinction between these closely related species
but their nymphs are practically indistinguishable in the field. Both may
be attracted by artificial light and they may therefore turn up indoors,
often on ceilings. They have an extraordinary ability to leap between
smooth surfaces at right angles to one another (from a ceiling to a wall,
for example) and they are entirely harmless. Neither species stridulates
in the conventional manner, instead they tap one of their hind legs on the
surface of a leaf or branch - far too softly to be detected by human ears.
They are therefore difficult to locate without some degree of persistence
unless a beating technique is used – hence the use of scanned
transparencies for the photographs of the male. Females normally descend
to oviposit in the cracks of tree bark after dark and they may sometimes
be spotted doing this earlier in the day by sharp-eyed observers.
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