Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

These flightless crickets can be found in late summer, often sunbathing on leaves.  They feed on insects like caterpillars and aphids as well as the leaves of bramble and nettles, amongst other plants.  Despite their rather cumbersome appearance they can move quickly and have a prodigious jump.  You may hear them chirping as you take in the sounds of the Common.  They can be seen between May to November.  The photo shows a female, with her upturned ovipositor which she uses to lay her eggs in dead branches, bark crevices or rotting wood.  The young crickets go through seven stages before becoming adults, over a period of two years.