Speckles

Speckled Bush-cricket nymph (Leptophyes punctatissima)

This, our third summer in the "half acre," has proved to be the Year of the Orthopterans. We were so excited to hear four (count 'em, FOUR) Field Grasshoppers in the garden our first year. Last year, we found a second grasshopper species. This year, it's off the charts! Not only have we seen literally hundreds of nymphs and adults, we've found a trio of cricket and grasshopper species new for the garden — and one very rare for our county — proof that our little pocket meadow is providing some good habitat. Among our finds is the handsome Speckled Bush-cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima), so named for the myriad tiny black spots that cover its body and long legs. (You may need to click on the above picture to make it large enough to see those spots.) This is one of the more widespread species, reasonably common across central and southern England and coastal Wales. It's found primarily in rough vegetation, including in hedgerows, scrub and gardens, and is particularly fond of Bramble. They're herbivores, feeding on a variety of leaves. Nymphs emerge in May and develop as the summer progresses. (We were seeing mid-sized nymphs by mid-June.) By mid-summer, they're full adults, which breed and survive until the frosts of November. Females lay their eggs in plant stems or under the bark of trees, and these eggs overwinter, with nymphs emerging the following spring. Like all grasshoppers and crickets, males serenade potential mates, rubbing their wings together to make a high-pitched chirp, which is barely audible to most humans — particularly those of us with older ears.

Adult male