Female bog bush-cricket © Brian Eversham
Bog bush-cricket
This scarce bush-cricket can be found on the boggy parts of heathlands.
Scientific name
Metrioptera brachypteraWhen to see
Adults: July to NovemberSpecies information
Category
Statistics
Length: 11-21 mmConservation status
Nationally Scarce
Habitats
About
The bog bush-cricket is a scarce insect in Britain. It has very specific habitat needs, requiring lowland bogs or wet areas of heathland with purple moor-grass and cross-leaved heath. As these habitats have been lost, the bog bush-cricket has declined with them. Like other crickets and bush-crickets, males 'sing' by rapidly rubbing their wings together. Females use their sword-like ovipositor to lay eggs in purple moor-grass.How to identify
A medium-sized insect, with extremely long back legs and antennae. It has short wings that usually reach the middle of the abdomen, though there is a rare form with wings that are longer than the abdomen. It has a greenish belly and comes in two colour forms: green and brown. The green form is green on top of the head, pronotum (the saddle-like section behind the head) and wings. The brown form is brown on those areas. The side of the pronotum has a pale border along the rear edge, which helps distinguish it from the similar and more common Roesel's bush-cricket (which has a pale margin along all edges).The female has a long, upwardly curved ovipositor at the end of her body. The song of the male is soft but shrill, sometimes likened to a rapidly ticking watch. When heard through a bat detector, it sounds like a chuffing train.