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

Conehead

Long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus fuscus)

That's quite the racing stripe!

While we were out enjoying the sunshine this past weekend, Mike found a nymph of a grasshopper species new to the garden. This little lady, with her dark "racing stripe", is a Long-winged Conehead. The triangular shape of her head, her ridiculously long antennae, and her long, straight ovipositor (the brownish appendage sticking out her back end; she'll use it to lay her eggs) help to clinch her ID. When we looked her up in our copy of "Grasshoppers and Allied Insects of Norfolk" — yes, we're nerds — we discovered a single dot on the map for the entire county, located well along the coast from where we are. Understandably, that led to considerable excitement on our part. However, a bit of nosing around on the internet revealed that things have changed since 2000, when the book was published. There are now records for virtually all corners of the county, and the species is widespread across much of southern England and Wales. Given that it was first reported in Great Britain in 1931, that's quite a range expansion.

Some conehead species are tied to wetlands, but the Long-winged Conehead isn't one of them. Though it's certainly found in reed beds, bogs, and marshes, it also occurs in dry heaths and rough grassland, so it's apparently right at home in our pocket meadow. Nymphs emerge in late May and June, and reach adulthood by August. If she reaches maturity and mates, our little nymph will deposit her eggs in grass stems (after first chewing a hole to make it easier to stick her ovipositor into position). Adults will be around until early winter. These coneheads are primarily herbivores, but will also munch on aphids and small caterpillars. As with other grasshoppers, males "sing" by rubbing their legs together. The song is similar to that of the Common Green Grasshopper, but somewhat higher pitched and more "metallic"; I'll have to work on getting a recording.