Great green bush cricket
The Great Green Bush Cricket, known for its distinctive large green body, is an intriguing insect belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. It typically grows between 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) in length, with males being slightly larger than females. Found across Europe, Asia, and Africa, this cricket inhabits undisturbed vegetation such as tall grasses and thistles, often near urban areas or along railway embankments. Despite its name, it is not a true grasshopper but shares some characteristics, including long, thread-like antennae that serve as primary sensory organs.
This carnivorous insect primarily feeds on flies, caterpillars, and larvae, using its strong mandibles to chew. The Great Green Bush Cricket undergoes a unique reproductive cycle from May to October, during which males perform courtship calls by rubbing their wings together, enticing females to mate. The female lays up to 600 eggs underground, where they remain until spring. Nymphs emerge and undergo multiple molts, feeding on their discarded skins, before reaching maturity. With a lifespan averaging between two and seven years, the Great Green Bush Cricket is not considered a threatened species, although it faces predation from various animals like birds and snakes.
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Great green bush cricket
The great green bush cricket gets its name for its large, green body. Although it is called a bush cricket, it does not just live in shrubs and bushes. The great green bush cricket generally inhabits undisturbed vegetation, or plant life. The great green bush cricket can be found in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Tettigoniidae
Genus: Tettigonia
Species: Viridissima
The great green bush cricket grows to be between one and 1 1/2 inches (2 1/2 and four centimeters) in length. Typically, the male is slightly larger than the female. The wingspan of the great green bush cricket is about 1 1/2 to two inches (four to 5 1/2 centimeters).
As its name suggests, the great green bush cricket is a large, green insect. Although the bush cricket is sometimes called one of the long-horned grasshoppers, it is not a true grasshopper. Like other crickets, the great green bush cricket has a pair of long, thin, thread-like antennae extending from its head. These antennae are the insect's main sensory organs.
Like other insects, the great green bush cricket is divided into three parts, which are the head, thorax, and abdomen. Along its back, the great green bush cricket has a large pair of wings which form a protective covering over its more delicate hindwings. On the insect's underside are a number of holes by which the great green bush cricket breathes. Although the great green bush cricket has strong, bent, hind legs, it is not a jumping creature. The great green bush cricket moves from place to place by walking, running, or flying.
The great green bush cricket may be found in untouched vegetation, or plant life, throughout Great Britain, Europe, central Asia, and Northern Africa. It generally inhabits areas with thistles, tall grasses, and weeds. Such places often appear around the edges of cities, along railway embankments, and along the sides of chalk and limestone hills. Generally, the great green bush cricket is more common during times of warm temperatures.
The great green bush cricket is a carnivorous insect, or insect which feeds on animal matter. Its diet includes flies, caterpillars, and larvae. The great green bush cricket chews its food from side-to-side with its strong mandibles, or jaws. The great green bush cricket is threatened mainly by birds of prey. Snakes, frogs, toads, rats, bats, mice, and spiders may also prey on the great green bush cricket.
The mating season of the great green bush cricket takes place between May and October. The male begins the courtship ritual by rubbing the bases of his wings together to call to his mate. This rubbing produces a high-pitched sound to which the female responds. After the pair mate, the female pushes her ovipositor, or sword-shaped egg-laying appendage, into the ground and lays her up to 600 eggs one at a time. The eggs remain under the ground throughout the winter and hatch into nymphs in the spring. Eventually the nymphs emerge from the ground in May or June. As the nymphs grow, they molt, or shed their skins, many times before reaching their adult size. Nymph great green bush crickets feed on their discarded skins after each molting. A single great green bush cricket nymph may molt seven or eight times before reaching its maturity.
The great green bush cricket has an average life span of between two and seven years. They are not a threatened species.
Bibliography
Marshall, Tom. “Grasshoppers and Crickets - Great Green Bush-Cricket.” The Wildlife Trusts, www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/grasshoppers-and-crickets/great-green-bush-cricket. Accessed 8 May 2024.
Royal Entomological Society. “Great Green Bush Cricket.” Insect Week, 2024, www.insectweek.org/discover-insects/grasshoppers-crickets-bush-crickets/great-green-bush-cricket. Accessed 8 May 2024.