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( Tettigonia viridissima ) |
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©J Burman |
Initial Data:
Status: On The Edge: The Devon Biodiversity Action Plan says: ”Nationally, the great green bush-cricket has experienced a marked contraction in range over the past 50 years or so, and where it does still occur is less numerous than it used to be. It is not, however, a particularly rare species in Devon at present - indeed the County is a stronghold of the species in Britain .” |
Sources of Info:
Devon Biodiversity Action Plan website V.K.Brown. Naturalists Handbooks “Grasshoppers”. The Richmond Publishing Company. 1990. |
Like many other insects the GGBC hatches from an egg (late spring or early summer) as a juvenile form called a nymph and then passes through a number of stages ,or instars, each one is larger than the last and gradually more like the mature adult form. The GGBC may have up to 9 instar stages before the adult. To move from one instar stage to the next the nymph sheds its entire outer body casing or exoskeleton! There is no cocoon or pupal stage, as in butterflies and moths, so the whole process is called incomplete metamorphosis. |
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Most male grasshoppers produces wonderful high pitched trilling songs by rubbing together (very fast) a series of pegs on the hind leg with thickened ridges on the fore wing – the whole process is called stridulation . The male crickets however, raise their wings and rub them together. As with other grasshoppers and crickets, the male puts on a courtship display for the female, producing different types of song first to attract the female to him and then during courtship proper, each song is unique to each species. Their ‘ears' are on their front legs! |
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Generally the GGBC is nocturnal, although they often become active in late afternoon or early evening and continuing to sing well into the night. This is different to grasshoppers who are more active in the day. They feed on plants and but also other insects, using their impressively sharp mouthparts for biting off bits and chewing them thoroughly - they have been known to nip inquisitive naturalists too! The GGBC is restricted to the South of England and South Wales , only in the South West is it at all frequent. In Devon it is found primarily in coastal situations, especially the south coast, but also is locally abundant inland where suitable habitat prevails, and it is not uncommon in the lanes and hedgerows of the South Hams.? |
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Reasons: The GGBC likes rough tall grass and shrubby areas with thistles and brambles. It also needs patches of soil or short turf in which to lay its eggs. Such areas of rough grassland and hedgerows with uncut field margins are rare on modern farms. In suburban areas, road verges and gardens, scrubby habitat has also disappeared due to too much ‘tidying up'. |
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Action Priorities: The Devon Biodiversity Action Plan sums it up by saying;' we need to recognise areas of overgrown vegetation and scrub as valuable wildlife refuges. Scrub is a much maligned habitat that supports a wealth of plant and animal life. The great green bush-cricket can be regarded as a "flagship" for scrub communities'. |
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Seeing the Great Green Bush Cricket: An excellent place to spot Great Greens is in the fields adjacent to Occombe woods. Pop up there on a fine day in the late afternoon to have a chance to hear those males stridulating before the cold weather sets in! The Great Greens are also common in the lush meadows of Occombe Organic Farm SSSI another of the many reasons that makes this farm so special and unique. |
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